REDMOND, Wash. — The owner of a Redmond cannabis shop is pushing for answers after another smash-and-grab robbery at his shop. He said City of Redmond regulations are not allowing him to protect his business.
Logan Bowers, co-owner of Hashtag Cannabis, said his Redmond shop has been hit by thieves five times in the last 13 months.
“It’s a very unsettling feeling to just feel vulnerable all the time,” he said.
Bowers said the business doesn’t store cash inside, and most product is locked up where thieves can’t reach.
“The amount of product they steal is tiny compared to the property damage,” he said.
Bowers has other store locations in Seattle and Everett but said he’s never been targeted there. He says both of those locations have bollards out front, which is what he wants to add outside his Redmond location.
“Ideally, we just put in some protective infrastructure,” he said. “Then they can’t do this.”
But Bowers said the city won’t allow the business to do that.
KIRO 7 reached out to the City of Redmond and received a response from a spokesperson from the city.
“The business has applied for a right-of-way permit and can install bollards (at their expense) in their right-of-way on the Leary Street side of the building,” Derek Wing said. “The City right-of-way goes all the way to the building on the Cleveland Street side, and bollards are not currently allowed per city code.”
Bowers said the shop’s property line doesn’t go far enough on Leary Way to install infrastructure in a way that would protect the shop long-term. For now, he has placed temporary blocks on Leary Street but hasn’t been able to place anything on Cleveland Street.
Wing said bollards would not have helped with the most recent incident, as thieves drove up the sidewalk ADA ramp, which the city cannot block.
“The City’s leadership, including the Mayor, Chief Operating Officer, Council representatives, Deputy Police Chief, and the Planning and Public Works Directors, recently met with the business owner and offered safety suggestions that the business owner can follow,” Wing said, “including locking up products after hours and working with the building owner to install steel reinforcements to harden the building.”
Bowers said he’s not sure how much more his business can take.
“This is absurd,” Bowers said. “Businesses should be allowed to protect themselves and prevent crime.”
He plans to continue lobbying the city for a solution but worries his business won’t survive in Redmond without one. He estimates the property damage from one of these “smash-and-grab” robberies costs him about $30,000 each time.
“There’s a pretty high chance we’ll go out of business,” he said. “I mean, you can’t take five cars a year into a building and expect to still be here.”
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