Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
A moratorium on new marijuana business applications appears likely as Glenwood Springs City Council gets set to review its rules and regulations 17 months after they were first put on the books.
"If we are going to re-address these issues, and we've now made that public, we need to move as quickly as possible (to impose a moratorium)," Councilman Steve Davis said after a lengthy meeting Thursday night where citizens lined up to urge the city to amend its marijuana ordinances in an effort to better control the proliferation of new retail and related businesses.
A majority of council members said they would be in favor of a temporary moratorium during that review process.
An emergency measure that would go into effect immediately will be formally considered at a special council meeting Tuesday morning.
However, a moratorium would not halt license applications already in process, including those for two new downtown retail establishments that prompted the latest public concerns.
Those applications, for the proposed Green Dragon location at 919 Grand Ave. and the Recreational Releaf outlet at 404 10th St., are pending a decision by the city's licensing officer following review hearings last week.
Two other retail marijuana license applications that came in earlier this spring are scheduled for hearings in July, according to City Clerk Catherine Mythen.
About 30 citizens showed up at the Thursday council meeting requesting changes in the way the city handles marijuana businesses.
More than half of them addressed council directly, suggesting everything from increasing setbacks between establishments and from schools to limiting zone districts where businesses can locate, or possibly banning them altogether from the downtown core.
"I feel like a guinea pig as a parent, as community members and as a business owner," Glenwood resident Jackie Gaddis said. "The climate of our town has changed dramatically ... and in a negative way."
Others said the existing number of recreational retail marijuana stores, which is three, are adequate and said Glenwood should limit it at that.
The city's current zoning and licensing rules were adopted in late 2013, just ahead of the state of Colorado allowing retail marijuana sales starting in January 2014.
The regulations established a 325-foot separation between retail and medical marijuana businesses, and a 500-foot setback from K-12 schools.
Glenwood Springs saw its first retail sales in May of last year, and now has three retail establishments, all associated with what had already been existing medical marijuana dispensaries
"Unfortunately, we were part of a very large and sometimes flawed experiment," noted City Councilman Stephen Bershenyi. "There's no reason in my mind not to revisit what we have done."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: City looking at moratorium on new pot shops | PostIndependent.com
Author: John Stroud
Contact: jstroud@postindependent.com
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Glenwood Springs Colorado Breaking News, Opinion, Sports and Entertainment | PostIndependent.com
"If we are going to re-address these issues, and we've now made that public, we need to move as quickly as possible (to impose a moratorium)," Councilman Steve Davis said after a lengthy meeting Thursday night where citizens lined up to urge the city to amend its marijuana ordinances in an effort to better control the proliferation of new retail and related businesses.
A majority of council members said they would be in favor of a temporary moratorium during that review process.
An emergency measure that would go into effect immediately will be formally considered at a special council meeting Tuesday morning.
However, a moratorium would not halt license applications already in process, including those for two new downtown retail establishments that prompted the latest public concerns.
Those applications, for the proposed Green Dragon location at 919 Grand Ave. and the Recreational Releaf outlet at 404 10th St., are pending a decision by the city's licensing officer following review hearings last week.
Two other retail marijuana license applications that came in earlier this spring are scheduled for hearings in July, according to City Clerk Catherine Mythen.
About 30 citizens showed up at the Thursday council meeting requesting changes in the way the city handles marijuana businesses.
More than half of them addressed council directly, suggesting everything from increasing setbacks between establishments and from schools to limiting zone districts where businesses can locate, or possibly banning them altogether from the downtown core.
"I feel like a guinea pig as a parent, as community members and as a business owner," Glenwood resident Jackie Gaddis said. "The climate of our town has changed dramatically ... and in a negative way."
Others said the existing number of recreational retail marijuana stores, which is three, are adequate and said Glenwood should limit it at that.
The city's current zoning and licensing rules were adopted in late 2013, just ahead of the state of Colorado allowing retail marijuana sales starting in January 2014.
The regulations established a 325-foot separation between retail and medical marijuana businesses, and a 500-foot setback from K-12 schools.
Glenwood Springs saw its first retail sales in May of last year, and now has three retail establishments, all associated with what had already been existing medical marijuana dispensaries
"Unfortunately, we were part of a very large and sometimes flawed experiment," noted City Councilman Stephen Bershenyi. "There's no reason in my mind not to revisit what we have done."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: City looking at moratorium on new pot shops | PostIndependent.com
Author: John Stroud
Contact: jstroud@postindependent.com
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Glenwood Springs Colorado Breaking News, Opinion, Sports and Entertainment | PostIndependent.com
