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14 STUDY OF MEDICAL CANNABIS MANUFACTURERS AND CANNABIS FACILITIES CITY OF SAINT ANTHONY VILLAGE 5.0 IMPACT OF MEDICAL CANNABIS 5.1 Land Uses Sensitive to Medical Cannabis A study by the American Bar Association identified a series of sensitive land uses that cities around the country have determined were incompatible with medical cannabis.2 These sensitive uses include residences, schools, child care centers, rehab centers, churches, parks, libraries, cinemas, and recreation centers. A report by the Massachusetts Municipal Association determined that “uses that are being considered as incompatible [to medical marijuana treatment centers] are schools, day care centers, churches, residential areas and other medical marijuana treatment centers.”3 5.2 Land Use Controls to Protect Sensitive Uses To protect sensitive uses, almost all of the cities studied by the ABA adopted requirements for a buffer between cannabis facilities and sensitive uses in order to protect the sensitive uses.4 While the size of buffers implemented range from 250 feet to 1,320 feet, the most common buffer was 1,000 feet, consistent with the federal policy to discourage marijuana distribution within 1,000 feet of schools and certain other sensitive uses.5 For example, the City of Bloomington has implemented a requirement for a 1,000-foot buffer between cannabis facilities and existing schools. In addition, most cities limit cannabis facilities to areas zoned commercial and industrial or prohibit cannabis facilities in areas zoned residential and mixed use. Many cities have also implemented a cap on the number of cannabis facilities within the jurisdiction.6 5.3 Sensitive Land Uses in St. Anthony The sensitive uses most likely to be impacted by cannabis facilities in the C District or LI District are residences, day care centers, and parks. A significant number of these sensitive uses exist within areas that would be impacted by cannabis facilities. As a result, allowing medical cannabis without controls to protect sensitive uses would likely have a significant and negative impact on health, safety, and general welfare within the City. The existing sensitive uses that would be negatively impacted by medical cannabis are as follows: 2 Nemeth, Jeremy and Ross, Eric, Planning for Marijuana: The Cannabis Conundrum, American Bar Association, Section of State and Local Government Law and Section of Public Contract Law, Fall 2014, available at http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/events/state_local_government/2014%20Fall%20Council%20Meeting /reefer-madness/NemethRoss.authcheckdam.pdf. 3Saint Andre, Barbara, Medical Marijuana: Land Use Concerns, Massachusetts Municipal Association Annual Meeting 2013, available at https://www.mma.org/resources-mainmenu-182/doc_view/775-medical-marijuana-land- use-concerns. 4 Nemeth, supra at note 2. 5 Id. 6 Id. 22