It was standing room only at the Enterprise City Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday as several residents registered their opposition to neighbor Jerry Booze’s application to open a small shop on his front porch.

Booze’s property at 305 NW 1st St. in Enterprise is zoned C-1 (commercial) and faces Highway 3. His proposal was to open a small shop on his front porch to sell what he described as “hippy stuff, fun kind of stuff.”

The list of items proposed for sale included: pipes and water pipes, incense and holders, door beads, crystals, scented oils, body jewelry, rain sticks, dream catchers.

It was the first item on the list that caused the most concern for neighbors, who turned in five signed copies (11 signatures) of a letter of opposition created and circulated by neighbor Andi Mitchell. Two other personal letters and a formal letter from Enterprise Police Department expressed similar concerns. The introduction of the group letter makes clear that: “In particular we are opposed to the selling of drug paraphernalia in our neighborhood.”

“I don’t approve the type of people he has visiting there,” said neighbor Cassandra Burns in public testimony. “It doesn’t sound to me like this is a legitimate business interest.”

Other issues outlined in the letter included lack of parking, potential for reduced property values, potential for recreational drug use in the alley behind the shop, and the fact that, although the property is zoned commercial, “in practice it is a residential neighborhood.”

One neighbor was under the impression that selling pipes and water pipes was illegal. Oregon Measure 91 — legalizing recreational marijuana throughout the state — allows for the sale of such items to persons age 21 or older. The same items can be categorized as illegal when connected to illegal activities.

Another resident thought that if the city moved forward with an “opt out” provision it would mean that marijuana use, and therefore the sale of pipes, would be illegal in the city. If the city opts out, the retail sale of marijuana would be illegal because no licenses for such retail businesses would be issued, but residents of the state, even in opt-out counties and cities, may still grow and use marijuana as outlined in Measure 91.

City Administrator Michelle Young informed the crowd that Enterprise City Council had decided the night before to move forward to take advantage of the Measure 91 opt-out provision and that no retail marijuana sales would be approved within the city.

“I brought that up because it was a common concern in some of the letters,” Young said.

After residents were informed that the application was legal and the Planning Commission could not find any criteria banning the sale of items the applicant had listed, the opposition quickly centered on the lack of parking. Booze had submitted a plan that called for two parking spots in the alley behind his home, but adjacent landowners Cassandra Burns and David Kuhlman testified that access to the alley was across private land, there was no easement in place, and the landowners were within their rights to simply deny access in the future.

Planning commissioners allowed comment from Booze and his neighbors, after which the application was denied, by unanimous vote, based on the lack of off-street parking.

“It’s zoned commercial but it’s really not suitable for commercial, which is probably why it’s never been commercial,” Commissioner John Lawrence said.

Booze may bring an amended plan before the commission in the future and is examining the possibility of installing a culvert over the ditch at the front of his property, which would allow him to create parking spaces in his front yard off Highway 3.

“I’m excited about this,” Booze said. “I want this as low-impact as possible on the neighbors, I appreciate you all coming and letting me know how you feel about it. Maybe I can change some minds.”

Enterprise City Council voted unanimously during its Nov. 9 meeting to move forward with an application to opt out of all forms of licensing with regard to the legal use of marijuana within city limits and to forgo any related tax money from the state.

The decision was based on a shared perception that the state did not yet have a clear plan for management of recreational marijuana and public opinion within the county with regard to Measure 91 already had been made clear. Sixty-one percent of Wallowa County voters opposed Measure 91, making both the county and its cities eligible for the opt-out provision.

“Nobody wants to be caught up in the state’s mess,” City Administrator Michelle Young said. “Because (the percentage of vote against Measure 91 in Wallowa County) was such a high number, that does give us a message. I think we’re wiser to opt out now and then, when the state figures this all out, we can go back and figure out what is good for our community.”

The ability to opt back in at a future date was discussed with Commissioner Dave Hayslip expressing a desire to keep options open should public opinion change and income become a significant issue.

“When the time comes and there’s money involved, can we get back in and not lose money?,” Hayslip asked.

It was difficult for commissioners to come up with a solid answer to that question, as the process for opting back in has not been established.

“(The regulations) are still very convoluted in my mind,” Mayor Steve Lear said. “It’s my understanding that if we agree to opt out at this particular time, we can change our minds in the future when the rules and regulations are set.”

According to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, 11 counties and 41 cities have filed “opt-out” papers.

For more information on how Measure 91 works, visit: http://tinyurl.com/ous2hyj.