Truth Seeker
New Member
The Mountain Village Town Council is doing some soul searching on the future of recreational marijuana sales within town limits. While most council members are leaning toward allowing sales, a moratorium is likely so that the town has more time to consider the subject.
On Thursday the council held a lively discussion about how and if the town will allow the sale of recreational marijuana when sales become legal statewide next year. Most of the council was in support of allowing sales of some sort, but there were opponents too.
What they all agreed on is a desire for more information on the issue and its implications, as well as the emerging state laws that will govern marijuana sales and the taxes will be collected from them.
By the end of the discussion the council decided it will vote on a measure that would enact a moratorium period on sales during its next meeting in September. Only Dave Schillaci was firmly against marijuana sales in Mountain Village, while the rest of the council was mostly in favor of sales, but not other activities such as marijuana-related manufacturing and agriculture. Mayor Dan Jansen was not present for the meeting.
"It is federally illegal, and I don't think we should license a business that the feds see as illegal," said Schillaci during the meeting. "Where would there be a good place be for such an establishment in Mountain Village? There just isn't a good place. And [many] of the people who come on vacation, they don't want to see that. And I don't think people need super convenience to get marijuana, they can go to Telluride."
According to state guidelines, the town must decide if it will allow recreational marijuana sales by Oct. 1 or enact a moratorium. The council plans to vote on the moratorium, but there were differing opinions on how long it should last. Council member Richard Child suggested a moratorium last until Dec. 31, when the council could then pass whatever regulations it wanted, or extend the moratorium.
Town staff presented three options for regulation of retail marijuana in Mountain Village. With the first option, the town would not establish a local license requirement. It would have to approve or deny any state-issued licenses. Under the second option the town would require an applicant to obtain a local license in addition to meeting the state requirements and obtaining a state license. The third option would allow the town to permit certain types of marijuana establishments while prohibiting others or limit the number that can operate in town.
But with the moratorium vote a month away, council members said they want to hear from constituents about the issue. Some cited the strong voter support Amendment 64 had in Mountain Village (around 75 percent of voters approved it), while others were worried that some second homeowners might feel disenfranchised because they were not allowed to vote on the amendment last November.
Council member Jonette Bronson said she was in favor of sales as long as the right regulations are in place, and suggested that the town could do a survey about the issue on its website.
Others, meanwhile, simply wanted to allow sales.
"I did not vote for 64, but why would you want to prohibit a business that provides income and taxes?" asked council member John Howe. "I support shops and growing and manufacturing. But I don't think it would make economic sense to do any [marijuana related] manufacturing in Mountain Village. The property values are too high and there's not much of a growing season."
Howe said he is in favor of the second option with the dual licenses. As for the rest of the council, Richard Child said he is in favor of allowing sales as did Cath Jett, Michelle Sherry and Bronson. However, each member said they want more information, especially about where the public stands on the issue. While tax revenue would be collected from retail sales, town staff said it would likely not amount to a significant source of money for the town.
"I voted for [Amendment 64], but I wasn't voting for stores, I was just voting for it to be legal," said Sherry. "I want to get some input from the community."
Cath Jett was also in favor of creating specific regulations for Mountain Village.
"I think there are definitely ways to control it, we can do it our way," Jett said.
Amendment 64 has made it legal for adults 21 and older to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana in Colorado. However, towns, cities and counties in the state can prohibit the sale of marijuana if they choose. They can also impose different fees on retail shops selling pot and even get certain percentages of taxes collected off sales.
In July the Telluride Town Council agreed that it won't prohibit retail marijuana facilities and will establish its own town-specific licensing structure for them. However the Town of Telluride is still working out exactly what its regulations will be.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: telluridenews.com
Author: Collin McRann
Contact: Telluride Daily Planet > Our Newspaper > Contact Us
Website: Telluride Daily Planet > News
On Thursday the council held a lively discussion about how and if the town will allow the sale of recreational marijuana when sales become legal statewide next year. Most of the council was in support of allowing sales of some sort, but there were opponents too.
What they all agreed on is a desire for more information on the issue and its implications, as well as the emerging state laws that will govern marijuana sales and the taxes will be collected from them.
By the end of the discussion the council decided it will vote on a measure that would enact a moratorium period on sales during its next meeting in September. Only Dave Schillaci was firmly against marijuana sales in Mountain Village, while the rest of the council was mostly in favor of sales, but not other activities such as marijuana-related manufacturing and agriculture. Mayor Dan Jansen was not present for the meeting.
"It is federally illegal, and I don't think we should license a business that the feds see as illegal," said Schillaci during the meeting. "Where would there be a good place be for such an establishment in Mountain Village? There just isn't a good place. And [many] of the people who come on vacation, they don't want to see that. And I don't think people need super convenience to get marijuana, they can go to Telluride."
According to state guidelines, the town must decide if it will allow recreational marijuana sales by Oct. 1 or enact a moratorium. The council plans to vote on the moratorium, but there were differing opinions on how long it should last. Council member Richard Child suggested a moratorium last until Dec. 31, when the council could then pass whatever regulations it wanted, or extend the moratorium.
Town staff presented three options for regulation of retail marijuana in Mountain Village. With the first option, the town would not establish a local license requirement. It would have to approve or deny any state-issued licenses. Under the second option the town would require an applicant to obtain a local license in addition to meeting the state requirements and obtaining a state license. The third option would allow the town to permit certain types of marijuana establishments while prohibiting others or limit the number that can operate in town.
But with the moratorium vote a month away, council members said they want to hear from constituents about the issue. Some cited the strong voter support Amendment 64 had in Mountain Village (around 75 percent of voters approved it), while others were worried that some second homeowners might feel disenfranchised because they were not allowed to vote on the amendment last November.
Council member Jonette Bronson said she was in favor of sales as long as the right regulations are in place, and suggested that the town could do a survey about the issue on its website.
Others, meanwhile, simply wanted to allow sales.
"I did not vote for 64, but why would you want to prohibit a business that provides income and taxes?" asked council member John Howe. "I support shops and growing and manufacturing. But I don't think it would make economic sense to do any [marijuana related] manufacturing in Mountain Village. The property values are too high and there's not much of a growing season."
Howe said he is in favor of the second option with the dual licenses. As for the rest of the council, Richard Child said he is in favor of allowing sales as did Cath Jett, Michelle Sherry and Bronson. However, each member said they want more information, especially about where the public stands on the issue. While tax revenue would be collected from retail sales, town staff said it would likely not amount to a significant source of money for the town.
"I voted for [Amendment 64], but I wasn't voting for stores, I was just voting for it to be legal," said Sherry. "I want to get some input from the community."
Cath Jett was also in favor of creating specific regulations for Mountain Village.
"I think there are definitely ways to control it, we can do it our way," Jett said.
Amendment 64 has made it legal for adults 21 and older to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana in Colorado. However, towns, cities and counties in the state can prohibit the sale of marijuana if they choose. They can also impose different fees on retail shops selling pot and even get certain percentages of taxes collected off sales.
In July the Telluride Town Council agreed that it won't prohibit retail marijuana facilities and will establish its own town-specific licensing structure for them. However the Town of Telluride is still working out exactly what its regulations will be.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: telluridenews.com
Author: Collin McRann
Contact: Telluride Daily Planet > Our Newspaper > Contact Us
Website: Telluride Daily Planet > News
