Following a public hearing on interim zoning regulations that govern medical marijuana “collective gardens,” the Bellevue City Council on July 2 voted to maintain the interim controls and directed staff to prepare a permanent ordinance.

The council adopted the six-month, interim regulations in May to ensure the gardens, currently allowed by state law, don’t harm residential neighborhoods.

Councilmembers also directed city legal staff to develop permanent regulations for medical marijuana, regardless of the outcome of I-502, a measure that will come before voters on the Nov. 6 general election ballot. If passed, it would decriminalize marijuana in Washington state for people over the age of 21.

Bellevue’s interim ordinance allows the gardens only in areas zoned light industrial, general commercial and medical institution and prohibits them within 1,000 feet of schools and churches.

Monday’s public hearing to extend the ordinance until November was required under the state’s Growth Management Act because it involves the city’s land use code. The hearing was lightly attended; two speakers advocated for access to medical marijuana.