A proposal for less restrictive zoning on medical marijuana dispensaries and other types of facilities may see pushback from Poplar Bluff City Council members.
Some city council members said Monday they would like to see the state maximum buffer zone, 1,000 feet, even if it means little useable property inside the city limits for the operations.
The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended last week that a 500-foot parameter be established between the facilities and schools, churches and state-licensed daycares.
“My comment is, I’d like to see us stick with the state proposal of 1,000 feet, instead of giving them even closer and more room to churches and schools,” said city council member at-large Ron Black.
The council discussed the matter during their regular meeting and is expected to take it up as a voting item at the July 15 meeting.
Black asked other council members to weigh in on the matter, receiving a response from mayor pro tem Steve Davis. Davis agreed that he would like to see the 1,000-foot restriction.
Other council members did not state a preference, but asked questions regarding who can receive medical marijuana and other matters relating to the zoning.
City attorney Mark Richardson cautioned the state has not recommended 1,000 feet, but has made that an option. Other cities, including Cape Girardeau, have opted for the 500-foot parameter, he said.
The council is not required to take the recommendation of the P&Z, Richardson said.
City planner Matt Winters told the commission in May that the higher restriction would push the businesses into the county, which has no zoning requirements. This would cost the city sales tax money, he said.
The state has said it will issue licenses to the top scoring 192 dispensaries, 60 cultivation facilities and 86 manufacturing facilities.
The number of facilities will be broken up by congressional district, Winters said. The Eighth Congressional District, which includes Butler County, is expected to have 24 dispensaries. Dispensaries can begin applying for licenses in August. Applications require a $10,000 non-refundable application permit, Winters said.
The facilities will be heavily regulated and the law forbids public consumption of the products, he continued.
Regulations state, for instance, that if only two people are working at a dispensary, a third customer would have to wait outside, Winters said. The facilities are required to have monitoring and emergency systems. All employees and owners have to pass a state background check, and several felonies convictions would eliminate individuals.
Black said while he doesn’t want to keep the facilities out, he wants to limit them as much as is possible within the council’s power.
Both Missouri and Butler County residents voted in 2018 to make it legal for specific medical uses.
Dispensaries are expected to open by the spring of 2020, with an application period for licenses starting in August.
Dispensaries would be allowed in the following districts, under the proposed ordinance: C-2 general commercial, C-1 neighborhood commercial, C-3 central commercial and CX-3 central commercial, mixed-use.
A conditional use permit would be required for dispensaries in C-1, C-3 and CX-3, but not in C-2.
Dispensaries are the only types of facilities that could require a conditional use permit, under the proposal.
Manufacturing, testing and cultivation would not require a conditional use permit, but would be limited to general and light industrial districts. Manufacturing and testing could also occur in some areas of general commercial districts.
Qualified patients include those suffering from cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, intractable migraines, a chronic medical condition that causes severe pain, any terminal illness, other chronic medical concerns when approved by a physician, HIV and debilitating psychiatric disorders.