City Council to Reconsider Cannabis Location Restrictions After Failed June Vote

City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to impose 1,000-foot buffer zones around parks and ban cannabis shops from Downtown and Midtown areas, revisiting location restrictions that failed to pass in a 3-2 vote last month.

The proposal would further restrict cannabis retailers after the Council already cut the number of citywide permits from 14 to seven in March.

If approved, the new regulations would limit cannabis businesses to one per Council Ward and establish minimum distances between retailers, significantly reducing where they can operate in the city.

At the June 17 meeting, the Council voted 3-2 in favor of the amendments, with two councilmembers absent. However, this fell short of the votes needed for approval.

The proposed amendments follow a March 25 City Council decision to significantly modify the Commercial Cannabis Business (CCB) program by reducing the total number of CCB permits from 14 to seven citywide.

If approved, the new regulations would:

• Limit CCB permits to no more than one per each of the seven Council Wards
• Prohibit cannabis retail establishments within Downtown and Midtown areas
• Establish a minimum separation of 1,000 feet between cannabis retailers
• Require a 1,000-foot buffer between cannabis retailers and public parks

This final provision regarding parks represents an increase from the initially proposed 600-foot buffer. The change came at the recommendation of the Planning Commission, which voted unanimously to endorse the amendments with the increased park buffer to match the distance required from schools.

The Downtown and Midtown restrictions have become particularly contentious, with Councilmember Jim Perry expressing opposition during the June 17 meeting. "I am also not in favor of having two large neighborhoods cut out of this," Perry stated. "I think what we do for one, we do for all."

In 2023, the Council adopted ordinances establishing a framework for retail cannabis businesses and setting a maximum of 14 permits citywide.

However, concerns emerged during the application review process when five of the 14 originally approved locations clustered in Ward 5, with two others nearby in Ward 6. This concentration prompted the City Council to pause the application review process in January 2025 for 90 days.

In March, the police department presented findings about safety impacts of cannabis businesses, citing increased service calls around cannabis outlets and illegal sales by tobacco retailers. Based on these findings, the City Council voted 4-2 to reduce the number of permits to seven and implement the one-per-ward limitation. The additional geographic restrictions now under consideration were originally set to be addressed in that same meeting but have faced multiple delays and votes.

The March reduction in permits sparked strong reactions from applicants who had already invested significantly in the process, with some warning of potential legal action against the city.