Pipestone County Commissioners have scheduled a second public hearing to take comments on the county’s proposed cannabis ordinance for Tuesday, March 11 at 9:30 a.m.
They previously held a public hearing regarding the ordinance on Dec. 17, but chose to hold off on approving it. At that time, there were questions posed regarding signage for cannabis businesses and on-site consumption during temporary cannabis events, and a desire to review statute references the county might want to consider prior to approving the ordinance.
Ewing said during the commissioners’ Feb. 18 meeting that a few changes had been made and some language in the draft ordinance had been cleaned up since the December hearing. The updated draft ordinance can be found on the county’s website at www.pipestone-county.com under the Latest News heading in the middle of the page.
The draft ordinance would limit the number of cannabis retail businesses in Pipestone County and any city or township that has delegated registration authority to the county to one for every 12,500 residents. A municipal cannabis retail business would not count against that limit.
The draft ordinance would prohibit the operation of a cannabis business within 1,000 feet of a school, and within 500 feet of a day care, residential treatment facility, and an attraction within a public park that is regularly used by minors. The draft ordinance also includes zoning regulations for cannabis businesses.
Retail sale of cannabis products would be limited to between the hours of 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. seven days a week. Cannabis use would not be allowed in a public place or a place of public accommodation unless the premises were an establishment or event licensed to permit on-site consumption, according to the draft ordinance.
Ewing said most cities and townships in the county had provided resolutions delegating the regulation of cannabis businesses in their jurisdictions to the county. Pipestone and Woodstock have adopted their own ordinances, and Hatfield, Trosky and Osborne Township had not yet indicated whether they plan to delegate that authority to the county or not.
“Everyone’s received a second notice on that,” Ewing said. “If they don’t get it back then we’re going to have to go under the assumption that they wish to do their own cannabis ordinance.”
In other business
The county commissioners will hold the annual road and bridge public hearing on Monday, March 3 at 9 a.m. at the Pipestone County Emergency Services building. The annual hearing provides an opportunity for representatives of local units of government and county residents to provide input on how the county should spend available federal, state and local funds on road and bridge projects.
