The city of Maple Valley has filed a request for an injunction against Green Society Group to prohibit it from operating, as well as a complaint of moral nuisance.
The complaint, filed Aug. 10, claims that GSG is operating a collective garden or medical marijuana dispensary, which violates a city ordinance prohibiting collective gardens, as well as both state and federal laws which prohibit dispensaries.
According to the complaint, “GSG has no right to operate its marijuana distribution business within the City’s corporate boundaries as such business constitutes a moral nuisance…because Defendant GSG is illegally delivering and/or possessing a controlled substance at its place of business.”
GSG’s owner, Chris Schoonover, as well as his attorney, Jay Berneberg, have repeatedly stated that the business is a management company for collective gardens and does not fall under a collective garden moratorium or ban.
Schoonover described his business in April as specializing in “palliative care and networking solutions,” which includes medical marijuana collective gardens.
According to the city’s complaint, GSG is listed as an “Herbal Medicine Clinic” as the business activity within the lease document for the business which is located in Frontier Village, 22010 S.E. 272nd St.
The city also alleges that as a part of its limited liability corporation formation agreement filed with the Washington Secretary of State, GSG indicated the purpose of the agreement was to “formally establish a Collective Garden for the purpose of producing, processing, transporting, and delivering cannabis for medical use.”
The complaint cites alleged statements from various individuals, including testimony Schoonover gave at the Planning Commission’s June 6 meeting, during his testimony he stated, “we’re not like many other collectives.”
The complaint also references a statement by Schoonover quoted in a dopemagazineonline.com story, in which he said, “making sure we know the patient before we give them medicine is something that will happen each and every day.”
According to the complaint, after the City Council voted to pass a ban on collective gardens at its June 25 meeting, the city sent a letter to GSG informing the owners that their business activity violated the city ordinance. A final letter was sent July 19.
The complaint also states that a King County undercover detective assigned to investigate whether or not marijuana was being distributed by GSG was able to purchase marijuana and marijuana product under an assumed name from GSG.
The complaint also seeks a $25,000 award from each defendant.
GSG’s attorney said they are in the process in responding to the complaint. They have 20 days to respond from the day the complaint was filed. All the defendants in the complaint have been served except Jon Hofer.
The conflict between GSG and the city first began after its grand opening April 20 when it was found that various improvement work was conducted without permits. Unsafe, do not occupy and stop work order notices were placed on the front door to the business May 3. The city also cited the business for allegedly violating its year-long moratorium on collective gardens.
Berneberg appealed to the city’s Hearing Examiner later that month. The hearing examiner proceedings on the citations were in late July.
Ultimately, Maple Valley Hearing Examiner upheld the city’s stop work order to a medical marijuana business, but dismissed nine others.
The hearing examiner had released his findings of fact on the moratorium citation Tuesday, ruling that GSG violated the city’s moratorium on collective gardens.
