Durango City councilors spent another night hashing through new rules for recreational marijuana sales.
Tuesday’s City Council meeting, which included a lengthy public hearing on vacation rentals, weeded through the amendments suggested by staff after the May 6 public hearings, which were continued to Tuesday’s meeting.
The council formed a general consensus around most amendments to the draft retail marijuana ordinance presented for public input, including allowing retail businesses in the Central Business District, grandfathering in current medical pot dispensaries that convert to or co-locate with retail, and allowing retail marijuana businesses in mixed-use buildings.
The first vote is scheduled for June 3.
The city currently requires 1,000 feet of separation between all pot dispensaries and schools, addiction-recovery buildings and residential child care centers because of federal and state law, Councilor Christina Rinderle said.
State law requires a 1,000-foot separation between medical marijuana dispensaries and schools, substance-abuse treatment facilities and child care centers, but state law doesn’t mandate that for retail stores. However, the city is trying to keep its rules for medical and recreational pot businesses similar.
The federal government has enhanced penalties for drug activity near schools and parks. It has sent “cease and desist” letters to businesses too close to schools, including medical pot dispensaries in Durango. The city has proposed a 250-foot distance from parks with playgrounds, but that could be reduced with a variance if the store is blocked from view on the playground.
“We’ve taken measured steps throughout the public process, and incorporated a lot of the input we’ve been receiving from the citizens,” Rinderle said. “I feel like we have a final product that is a good compromise and fits with the character of Durango.”
While councilors agreed to allow retail shops downtown, it remains unclear how many will be approved because of the separation-distance requirements. Much of downtown has school conflicts, City Attorney Dirk Nelson said.
“I think schools take up a lot of room downtown,” he said.
On Main Avenue between 14th and Fifth streets, the city councilors OK’d one retail store per block if it could meet the separation mandate. Stores also could go on East Second Avenue and north Main Avenue.
The council agreed to ban retail stores along College Drive and East Eighth Avenue, which is a mixed-use neighborhood.
Some residents were concerned that recreational marijuana sales would pop up near East Third Avenue and College Drive. That area, however, is zoned only for offices and medical uses. Any retail business in that area would trigger more parking requirements, which could be hard to accomplish.
smueller@durangoherald.com
