A1 Heated Storage, a self-storage facility in Sedro-Woolley, Wash., will have its request to allow tenants to grow medical marijuana on the premises heard a second time by the city council. The request received new life after a Skagit County Superior Court judge last week ruled city officials acted improperly when denying facility owner Thomas Swetts request nearly a year ago.

Swett applied for a conditional-use permit in December 2011 to convert several self-storage units into spaces appropriate for hydroponic gardening. The council denied the permit, but a hearing examiner approved it on appeal. The council then overturned the examiners decision.

Swett sued the city for not giving him due process and failing to follow municipal law. The judge sent the case back to the city after ruling on Aug. 13 that the council made procedural errors in reversing the examiners approval and denied Swett due process.

The council is scheduled to hold an appeal hearing on Sept. 26 behind closed doors. No public comments or new testimony will be considered.

Previous news reports said Swett was allowing tenants to store and grow dozens of legal pot plants in 26 units with access to water and artificial light. He sought a permit to add 14 more units for cultivating medical marijuana, arguing the self-storage facility was a safer and more secure environment than homes for legal growers.

Some residents objected to the facility expansion, citing traffic and safety issues.

Sedro-Woolley is a small town of about 10,000 people. It lies 70 miles north of Seattle and 50 miles south of the Canadian border.

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