Anchorage Assembly members appear to be changing course on city pot rules, proposing now to allow its use in retail stores and to relax other restrictions less than a month before businesses will start applying for licenses.

Amid complaints that proposed local rules were too draconian, Assembly members signaled an interest at a work session Friday in rolling back some of its most restrictive elements. That included paving the way for marijuana bars or cafes, and reducing a proposed 1,000-foot separation distance from schools, playgrounds and athletic fields to the state mandated separation of 500 feet.

There was also talk at the Assembly work session of allowing marijuana social clubs, where customers bring their own products to consume.

"I can't see us telling people that marijuana is legal in Alaska, but you can't use it anywhere," said Assembly Chair Dick Traini.

The discussion was designed to frame a special Assembly meeting next week on the city's proposed land use and licensing regulations for marijuana. Because two Assembly members will be absent on Thursday, Traini said he doesn't expect the 11-member body to take a vote that night. The vote will be delayed to the regular Feb. 9 meeting.

Before then, more amendments are likely to surface from Assembly members and the city legal department.

At the work session Friday, Assemblyman Patrick Flynn offered an amendment allowing customers at pot shops to consume marijuana products inside. The current regulations don't allow that. Flynn represents downtown Anchorage and said he might get involved personally in a cannabis enterprise, but did not explain what it was.

If on-site consumption is approved, Flynn said the Assembly would need to pass an additional measure to allow smoking on the site as an exemption from local indoor smoking laws. That area would have to be separated and ventilated, he said.

Flynn also proposed to roll back the city's proposed 1,000-foot separation between pot businesses and schools, playgrounds and athletic fields. City officials argued that the city should abide by federal drug-free zone guidelines, but Flynn said the state's 500-foot drug-free zone is adequate.

He also said the distance should be measured by the shortest pedestrian route rather than the shortest distance between two points.

"If we're going to give people who wish to enter this industry a reasonable shot at being successful, we cannot be overly restrictive," Flynn said.

Assemblyman Bill Evans of South Anchorage said he supported Flynn's change to the separation distances, adding that land is limited in the Anchorage Bowl. Evans also introduced an alternate proposal to adopt a 500-foot standard for only Girdwood if Flynn's Anchorage-wide proposal failed.

"The 1,000-foot requirement in Girdwood essentially eliminates the industry from any usable area in town," Evans said. "It is an area that's, let's say, enthusiastic about this industry."

In another amendment, Assemblyman Pete Petersen proposed to clarify that Anchorage police officers, in or out of uniform, should not conduct inspections of marijuana businesses. While it is not a formal aspect of the proposed licensing regulations, Petersen said he was concerned about what could happen. He said marijuana business inspections should resemble restaurant inspections.

Assemblywoman Amy Demboski, who toured the private marijuana club Pot Luck Events on Thursday, said she's finishing a proposal to re-insert a "neighborhood responsibility plan" into the land-use regulations.

A version of the plan was removed by the Planning and Zoning Commission earlier this month. Demboski's draft proposal would encourage those seeking cannabis business permits to "make every effort to engage in neighborhood planning, ahead of the curve," and allow the Assembly to take those efforts into consideration when evaluating a license.

Demboski also said the regulations should more clearly state that city officials can revoke a local license if the operator doesn't comply with a conditional use permit.

Near the end of the meeting, Traini hinted that he was working on a proposal that could allow marijuana social clubs in Anchorage. Such clubs aren't currently permitted under state regulations, though the Marijuana Control Board has asked the state Legislature to expand current laws to give the board authority to allow them, said board chair Bruce Schulte, who is also president of the Alaska Marijuana Industry Association group.

Traini also said he'd like to restore a provision that had been removed that would require marijuana businesses to be at least 500 feet away from homeless shelters and rescue missions.

Petersen, meanwhile, voiced interest in a bigger topic: allowing "boutique" home-grow operations.

He said he hadn't drafted a formal amendment yet, but said constituents had contacted him asking how to legitimize their home-grow operations.

Among industry representatives and hopeful business owners, the atmosphere after the meeting was positive. Schulte, who had argued against local regulations in recent weeks, called Friday's meeting "really encouraging."

"I think they're being approached from the right perspective, with due regard for public welfare and for the success of the industry," said Schulte.

He said he's also softening up on the idea of a local license, which he'd criticized previously as redundant and overly burdensome. He noted the city is not planning to charge a separate fee for the local license.

Reactions were more mixed among community council members who attended. Chris Constant, president of the Fairview Community Council, said he is comfortable with all the suggestions and particularly supports the neighborhood plan element. But Cathy Gleason, a longtime Turnagain Community Council member, said she thought the Assembly was going too far in favor of marijuana businesses.