Since 2022, City Council has been monitoring and discussing the impacts of cannabis use in the city, according to a presentation from Tom Smith, development director..
The regulations, approved by the Planning Commission, say the city can limit the amount of cannabis operators in the city; a facility can’t be located 500 feet from the property line of a public library, church, public playground, public park or school; and a dispensary can’t be located within one mile of another dispensary.
Smith said it’s important for Monroe to “prevent clustering,” regardless of the type of business.
According to a map Smith presented, when these 500 feet and one mile restrictions are in place, those looking to open another cannabis business in the city will have limited options.
Monroe has four dual-use dispensaries, one cultivation facility and one processing facility, according to Smith.
Mayor Keith Funk told the Journal-News after the meeting that while neighboring cities and communities created moratoriums on marijuana businesses, Monroe became “a hotbed” for cannabis businesses.
While the city wants to be “business friendly,” Funk said the city doesn’t want the number of cannabis businesses to “get out of hand.”
The city’s four marijuana businesses — two in Butler and two in Warren — are located near Interstate 75 and Funk said the amount of transient traffic already creates a strain on city services.
Vice Mayor Christina McElfresh has said she’s satisfied with the four dispensaries located in the city. The four Monroe dispensaries: Columbia Care Monroe, two Shangri-La Dispensary Ohio locations and The Landing Dispensary are located 2.5 miles apart.
“You can be one extreme or the other,” she has told the Journal-News. “From zero to 20 on every corner. I don’t want either one of those. I want that happy middle ground where you have some representation, but our city isn’t overwhelmed with it and you become known for it.”
MONROE MARIJUANA TIMELINE
Oct. 8: Council unanimously approves an emergency ordinance extending a moratorium until Jan. 1, 2025, on the granting of any new permits allowing retail dispensaries for medical marijuana and adult use cannabis operators.
Oct. 15: Planning Commission approves code requirements for marijuana businesses wanting to open in the city.
Nov. 12: Council holds public hearing on the Planning and Zoning Code Regulations and has the first reading. Council also has the first reading on the Business Code Regulations.
Nov. 26: The second reading for both regulations is expected. If adopted the effective date of these regulations will be Dec. 26, 2024.
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