La Plata County commissioners will consider today whether to cap the number of marijuana shops and restrict their hours.

County staff members are recommending commissioners limit the number of retail marijuana facilities to prevent the area from gaining a reputation for pot tourism.

In a survey of county residents, 58.6 percent of respondents did not want to see any limit imposed on the proliferation of retail marijuana stores. Less than 31 percent recommended adopting a limit.

County staff members are not recommending any limits on the number of marijuana cultivation and testing facilities.

Those recommendations were prepared for the Board of County Commissioners by county staff. Commissioners may opt not to follow staff recommendations.

Commissioners will meet with county staff today to discuss the marijuana regulations. The work session is open to the public, but the board is not scheduled to take public comment, and no decisions will be made.

Commissioner Gwen Lachelt said she was “a little surprised” by the cap recommendation, but wants to hear from county staff and marijuana business people.

“My concern is, I don’t want to be singling out a particular kind of business,” Lachelt said.

Commissioner Julie Westendorff said she wants to hear from county staff members before forming any opinions on the recommendations.

“I’ll be interested to hear what the rationale is behind that recommendation,” she said.

Commissioner Bobby Lieb could not be reached for comment Friday.

The staff recommendations suggest a limit of one marijuana store for each 10,000 county residents. The county’s population was an estimated 52,401 in 2012, according to the Census Bureau. If commissioners enact the suggested limit, it would stand at five until the county’s population hits 60,000.

The cap would apply only to unincorporated portions of the county. Durango, Bayfield and Ignacio might enact separate caps, or not.

Another idea advanced by the Sheriff’s Office is to restrict operating hours for retail marijuana stores from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. A slight majority of survey respondents, 52.4 percent, favored restrictions on hours.

The informal survey was posted on the county’s website.

County staff also recommended marijuana cultivators be banned from multi-family structures such as apartment buildings.

Prompted by the passage of Amendment 64, county commissioners are scheduled to first-pass regulations for medical marijuana growers who also want to grow pot for recreational use. That is expected to happen in February or March.

The board could adopt regulations for retail marijuana shops next summer.

cslothower@durangoherald.com

If you go

County commissioners will meet with county staff to discuss retail marijuana regulations at 1 p.m. today at the La Plata County Courthouse, 1060 East Second Ave., Anasazi Room. No decisions will be made at the work session.