County commissioners voted unanimously to approve the revised interim ordinance that establishes local controls for I-502 (legalized recreational marijuana) on Oct. 7.
Although commissioners Mike Chapman and Mike Doherty voted somewhat reluctantly, commissioner Jim McEntire was the first to confidently vote for the temporary controls.
“It is not my first choice, but I think getting something in place is better than nothing,” Doherty said during the board’s regular meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 7.
The approved interim ordinance will become effective the day of adoption and will automatically expire after six months.
“Hopefully we’ll have this back to us soon, and the DCD and Planning Commission can work quickly to get more a permanent ordinance,” Doherty said.
After sending the interim ordinance back to the DCD and Planning Commission for further revisions following the board’s lack of action at both the public hearing Sept. 23 and the regular meeting Sept. 30, officials with DCD and planning commission members have collaborated to produce a hybrid of the original interim ordinance.
Following the board’s work session Monday, Oct. 6, the commissioners leaned toward the approval of a joint version of the interim ordinance that included both the DCD’s and Planning Commission’s recommendations because to vote on the Planning Commission’s recommendation alone would require an additional public hearing.
Veering from the original proposal that was drafted by DCD officials and discussed during a public hearing, the now approved interim ordinance includes larger parcel size requirements for I-502 facilities, greater property line setbacks and all business activities must be done within permitted structures (within certain zones).
Despite the Planning Commission’s desire to prohibit all I-502 activity from residential areas, the approved interim ordinance still allows for that possibility to occur. However, the “key thing that takes a lot of land off the table” within residential areas is the increased minimum parcel size of 15 acres, Tom Montgomery, planning commission member, said.
The interim ordinance also includes Agricultural Retention and Rural Very Low zones as allowed areas for tier 1 or 2 I-502 production and type 1 and 2 processors. However, all producers and processors within these areas are subject to specific conditions set by the interim ordinance and recommended by the Planning Commission.
“Tier 3 in Agricultural Retention was added” as an allowed use based on one commissioner’s request, Sheila Roark Miller, DCD director, told the commissioners. Allowing the I-502 industry within Agricultural Retention zones creates another way to potentially preserve farmland, Roark Miller said.
Looking ahead, Montgomery said the Planning Commission is prepared to focus on a permanent ordinance and should have a product well before the interim ordinance expires in six months.
The DCD has yet to receive any additional I-502-related applications since the end of August, but have eight permits pending that will not be impacted by the interim ordinance.
