Jacob Bell
New Member
LAFAYETTE - A proposed zoning rule up for discussion could force two medical marijuana dispensaries in Lafayette to move.
The Lafayette City Council tonight is slated to discuss a plan to draw a 1,000-foot buffer zone around schools, hospitals and other medical marijuana centers; a 500-foot buffer zone around residential areas and day-care centers; and to exclude dispensaries from major highway corridors. Lafayette currently has a moratorium on medical marijuana businesses, but two started before the moratorium was enacted.
"It's a brand-new land use, so you need to determine where, in which zoning districts, you want these businesses to occur," said Phillip Patterson, Lafayette's community development director. "Council decided they didn't want to prohibit these businesses, they wanted to regulate them, so they directed staff to start drafting rules and regulations."
Proposed zoning rules would create about 78 acres in Lafayette open to medical marijuana dispensaries, based on a staff report that's up for discussion. Commercial zoning areas along South Boulder Road between South Public Road and U.S. Highway 287 most likely would be where they could locate, Patterson said.
Sales tax revenue from the two current dispensaries is not being released by the city, Patterson said. So far, he said he has seen one e-mail in support of the proposed ordinance.
In the Boulder Valley, Louisville and Boulder currently allow dispensaries, while Superior, Erie and Broomfield have banned them. The Longmont City Council is discussing a ban on the businesses.
The issue must be decided by June after Colorado legislators passed a law last year that allows cities to outlaw or regulate medical marijuana dispensaries. Colorado voters approved a medical marijuana amendment in 2000. Approximately 100,000 applications have been received by the state since a medical marijuana registry opened in June 2001.
News Hawk- GuitarMan313 420 MAGAZINE
Source: bcbr.com
Author: Beth Potter
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Boulder County Business Report
Website: Lafayette considers pot-shop zone
The Lafayette City Council tonight is slated to discuss a plan to draw a 1,000-foot buffer zone around schools, hospitals and other medical marijuana centers; a 500-foot buffer zone around residential areas and day-care centers; and to exclude dispensaries from major highway corridors. Lafayette currently has a moratorium on medical marijuana businesses, but two started before the moratorium was enacted.
"It's a brand-new land use, so you need to determine where, in which zoning districts, you want these businesses to occur," said Phillip Patterson, Lafayette's community development director. "Council decided they didn't want to prohibit these businesses, they wanted to regulate them, so they directed staff to start drafting rules and regulations."
Proposed zoning rules would create about 78 acres in Lafayette open to medical marijuana dispensaries, based on a staff report that's up for discussion. Commercial zoning areas along South Boulder Road between South Public Road and U.S. Highway 287 most likely would be where they could locate, Patterson said.
Sales tax revenue from the two current dispensaries is not being released by the city, Patterson said. So far, he said he has seen one e-mail in support of the proposed ordinance.
In the Boulder Valley, Louisville and Boulder currently allow dispensaries, while Superior, Erie and Broomfield have banned them. The Longmont City Council is discussing a ban on the businesses.
The issue must be decided by June after Colorado legislators passed a law last year that allows cities to outlaw or regulate medical marijuana dispensaries. Colorado voters approved a medical marijuana amendment in 2000. Approximately 100,000 applications have been received by the state since a medical marijuana registry opened in June 2001.
News Hawk- GuitarMan313 420 MAGAZINE
Source: bcbr.com
Author: Beth Potter
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Boulder County Business Report
Website: Lafayette considers pot-shop zone
