Red light, green light

While the city slows things down with a 60-day moratorium on medical marijuana business licenses, La Plata County is moving ahead with a scheduled vote on land-use regulations./Photo by Steve Eginoire

Medical marijuana gets mixed signals from city, county

Let’s put it to a vote: Recreational use initiative on November ballot

by Tracy Chamberlin

The medical marijuana industry is moving along in La Plata County, like stop-and-go traffic.

Just as the city hits the brakes with a 60-day moratorium on medical marijuana business licenses, the county steps on the gas with a scheduled vote on land-use regulations.

After clearing an insurance speed bump in March and passing licensing regulations in December 2011, the Board of County Commissioners is set to vote on the land-use regulations for medical marijuana facilities Tues., June 26.

The City Council, on the other hand, has slowed things down. “It certainly strikes me as worthwhile to take the time to do it right,” City Councilor Dick White said at Monday night’s meeting. During its weekly meeting, council approved a 60-day moratorium on issuing medical marijuana business licenses within the city in order to review current rules, fees and fines.

One of the main concerns is the bottom line. City staff believes the fees charged might not even be enough to cover its basic costs.
“For the processing of this paperwork … (the fees are) clearly at the very low end of what’s being charged around the state,” City Attorney David Smith said at the meeting.

The city wants time to review the scheduled fees and fines, and make any needed adjustments.

Smith said what prompted the emergency ordinance is a July 1 deadline at the state level. Colorado instituted its own moratorium on issuing business licenses, but that suspension will be lifted at the end of the month. At that time, the city was anticipating an influx of new applications. The moratorium will buy more time to address the financial and regulatory concerns before the onslaught.

Other issues the city is looking to resolve focus on the location of businesses, how to tax and permit caregivers, and even what happens to plants that are not fully used. Whether or not dispensaries and facilities should be allowed within the Central Business District or to share buildings with residential units will also be discussed.

Over the next 60 days, city staff is tasked with reviewing the existing regulations, developing additional ones if need be, and drafting a schedule of fees and fines. The moratorium ends Aug. 18, unless more time is needed. Smith said in the event they do need more time, city staff will return to council and request an extension.

Although county commissioners were unaware of the council’s intentions to enact the moratorium, Assistant County Attorney Paul Kosnick said the city’s actions shouldn’t have an effect on the county’s next week.

The commissioners are set to review and vote on final language for the land-use rules and regulations for medical marijuana facilities in the unincorporated areas of the county at 10 a.m. at the County Courthouse.

The six-page document, referred to as Chapter 91, addresses the application process and facility standards – whether small or large, or for making infused products or used as a warehouse.

It describes parameters for everything from proximity to other buildings to odor, signage and lighting.

It also defines parking standards and hours of operation. Applicants will be required to attend pre-application meetings and are subject to review by the county Planning Department.

“It’s more or less in line with temporary land-use regulations,” Kosnick said.

One of the recent additions to the document addresses security, providing an example of minimal security as including but not limited to an 8-foot tall chain-linked fence with a locked gate or solid, framed walls.

“It gets down to the dots per inch that your computer printer needs to be able to produce a color photograph from the surveillance equipment,” Smith said. “It’s very, very detailed.”

Whether or not commissioners choose to go with the current language or postpone the vote to make additional changes, they are against a deadline. Temporary land-use permits that have already been issued expire July 1. However, temporary permit holders shouldn’t be concerned. Since county officials passed the licensing regulations last December, land-use rules will have to be decided eventually. “Nobody’s looking to shut anybody down,” Kosnick said.

After overcoming the most recent insurance hiccup, the county is looking to move forward. County officials received a letter from one of its insurance carriers in March, stating that they might not be covered for liability claims having to deal with marijuana regulation and enforcement. The company said that because marijuana was illegal under federal law, it could not confirm coverage even though it was legal under state law.

The potential loss of coverage left county officials considering a possible ban on growers and producers. However, in the end, the county was able to move forward through the regulatory traffic maze.

In November 2000, state residents voted to legalize marijuana use for patients suffering from debilitating medical conditions. In 2008, the City Council adopted its own medical marijuana ordinance an began working on a regulatory framework. In 2010, the state Legislature followed up with the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code, which established an extensive book of regulations.

But enforcement and management is still in the hands of local agencies, leaving city and county officials to navigate their way through the medical marijuana forest.

In this week's issue...

January 25, 2024
Bagging it: State plastic bag ban is in full effect, but enforcement varies

January 26, 2024
Paper chase: The Sneer is back – and no we’re not talking about Billy Idol’s comeback tour.

January 11, 2024
High and dry: New state climate report projects continued warming, declining streamflows