A comparison of city fees for liquor licenses against retail and medical marijuana licenses reveals a stark disparity between fees for each industry within Durango.
In an interview, City Councilperson Kip Koso described the imbalance as “an unfair fee burden leftover from the early days of legalization in Colorado.”
In July, Durango Organics co-owner Jonny Radding said marijuana license fees are too high and asked city council to lower them. On Tuesday, city council explored the city’s fee structure for retail and medical marijuana licensing and the licensing of other business types.
In response, Councilperson Jessika Buell requested a closer look at the city’s licensing fees.
The first-time licensing costs for retail marijuana businesses are 735% greater than the costs for new liquor stores. New retail marijuana businesses pay $10,000 in licensing fees and new retail liquor stores pay $1,197, according to data presented by the city clerk’s office Tuesday.
License renewal fees are 1,794% greater for retail marijuana businesses than for liquor stores, which pay $8,000 and $422.50, respectively.
Both liquor and marijuana licenses are notably more expensive than general licenses for small businesses, data showed. A new small business license costs $80 while a license renewal costs $50.
Deputy City Clerk Ben Florine said liquor and marijuana licenses are more time-consuming to maintain than other licenses because they require review from multiple city departments. Each license type requires 15 to 20 staff hours to maintain annually.
Licensing fees for retail marijuana businesses were implemented in 2014, a time when retail marijuana was an unexplored and daunting prospect for many Colorado towns and cities. The town of Ignacio, for example, placed a moratorium on marijuana dispensaries in 2013 that remains in effect.
Retail marijuana licensing was a brand-new program for the city in 2014, one that required time to develop legal code, land-use code and the licensing process, Florine said.
But attitude and culture appears to have played a role in the retail marijuana fee schedule as well.
“There was a thought process at that time that this would be a natural way to limit the amount of businesses that were to open up, not making it as friendly economically for it,” said City Manager José Madrigal.
Florine said there are currently two medical marijuana business licenses and 11 retail marijuana licenses active in the city, and there are three liquor sales room licenses and 133 regular liquor licenses active. Additionally, the city approved 125 nonprofit liquor permits in 2025 as of Friday.
Koso, in a sarcastic tone, said he’s glad the city is worried about marijuana while allowing so many liquor licenses.
He and Buell said they want to make licensing fees more equitable for marijuana businesses.
Mayor Gilda Yazzie asked if negative connotations associated with marijuana are considered when implementing licenses.
“There’s still some of us old-timers who consider marijuana a gateway drug and the issues that come along with that – you know, dependence, a lot of bad behavior,” she said. “Is that considered in issuing licenses? It is a gateway drug.”
She said the cost of living hasn’t kept up with the rising cost of labor since the city started issuing retail marijuana business licenses, and asked if that was another factor that should be considered when contemplating the marijuana license fee schedule.
Koso asked if other licensing fees need to be raised to account for cost-of-living increases.
Florine said the city’s licensing fees are modest, appropriate and comparable to other towns, and additional staff work and costs of service haven’t increased to merit raising other licensing fees.
Madrigal suggested any cuts to marijuana licensing fees be postponed until January because the city is about to present a proposed budget to city council, and slashing marijuana license fees means slashing revenue, which will require slashing planned expenditures in return.
Koso said marijuana businesses that are paying higher fees are also feeling their budgets crunch, and he’d rather prioritize parity for businesses.
cburney@durangoherald.com
