For the last several years, the city of Black Diamond was moving slowly toward allowing marijuana retailers inside city limits.

But it looks like the council will now veer in the opposite direction after approving an emergency moratorium on pot shop applications and, eventually, once again ban stores from operating in city limits.

The city has a tumultuous past with weed, with some council members being at odds with constituents who voiced concern over opening their city to the possibility of a cannabis store — although it should be noted that no permits have been submitted to the city, and the state is currently not accepting new marijuana license applications.

Here’s some history.

When the first marijuana retailers began opening up in 2014 and 2015, Black Diamond quickly banned any stores from opening up inside city limits.

But over the next five years, new council members who were friendlier to the possibility of a pot shop were elected or appointed, citing in part the need for Black Diamond to have businesses that attract people to the city.

Discussions became serious in 2021 when former Council member Debbie Page championed repealing the ban.

It still took the council another three years to lift the ban, which was set to expire this year, and elected officials adopted zoning regulations on Dec. 5, 2024, which would have allowed marijuana retailers to operate in limited spaces in the city, and had to be more than 100 feet away from child care centers, public parks, transportation centers, libraries, and other businesses and facilities where children can congregate. The vote was four to two, and one council member abstained.

But over the next several months, some elected officials who approved lifting the ban left the council — notably, Page — and an emergency six-month moratorium on marijuana retail applications was approved unanimously on March 6.

The emergency moratorium was brought to the table by Council members Tamie Deady, who routinely opposed any ordinances that allowed marijuana retailers to operate in the city, and Darcy Peterson.

Deady noted that there was vocal opposition to both allowing a marijuana retailer to operate in the city and the 100-foot buffer, which is normally set at 1,000 feet, and that with the council members who supported lifting the ban no longer on the council, this was worth bringing back to council; Peterson said she didn’t think the potential tax revenue benefits of the business would offset other costs, like extra strain on police and court resources.

Several members of the public spoke on the moratorium and the likely ban at this meeting. Most, but not all, were in favor of a moratorium and a ban.

“I do not want cannabis dispensaries in Black Diamond,” one 13-year resident said, mentioning rising crime stats around marijuana retailers.. “… Our community will not be safe if we invite these known high-crime businesses to set up shop in our town.”

“I feel like we need to look at cannabis use the same way we look at cigarette use and alcohol use. They can be problems in our community. They can also be ways people relax, and they don’t always lead to abuse,” another said, noting that her husband uses marijuana medically due to a stroke. “… We, Black Diamond, should provide a place for people to legally buy cannabis in our city… This is a way to get more taxes, because we need businesses of all types.”

A third mentioned a petition to approve a moratorium and marijuana ban received 154 signatures.

“I think that is a pretty respectable number to not be ignored,” she said. “Those signers are concerned about crime. We’re concerned about tax dollars — it’s not as much of an impact as people think it is — property values, and social impact.”

A public hearing on a continued moratorium was held on the Oct. 2. No one from the public spoke.

A vote on the ordinance is later this month or November.