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MEMORANDUM <br />To:Mayor Stille and St. Anthony Village City Council <br />From:Stephen Grittman, City Planner <br />Date:July 20, 2023 <br />Meeting Date:July 25, 2023 <br />RE:St. Anthony – THC/Hemp Moratorium and Ordinance <br />NAC Project No.140.00 <br />PROJECT STATUS <br />This memorandum accompanies a proposed ordinance for the regulation of commercial sales <br />of THC/Hemp products (or “cannabinoids”). The materials below reflect the discussion held by <br />the Council at the first reading. The ordinance is essentially the same as that presented during <br />the first reading, with updates to internal language and references noted by Council. <br />As discussed at the that initial reading, the ordinance is intended to address the 2022 <br />Minnesota Legislature’s adoption of an allowance for the sale and consumption of Hemp-based <br />edible products containing cannabinoids (primarily limited amounts of THC). The City adopted <br />an interim moratorium ordinance in late July of 2022 halting any license or business openings <br />until these regulations could be developed. The moratorium ordinance permitted the study of <br />the various public policy issues surrounding the new legislation, gain additional guidance from <br />the League of Minnesota Cities and other resources, eventually leading to the development of <br />the proposed regulations that will manage the sale of the products allowed by the Legislature. <br />The moratorium ordinance was adopted for a 12-month period on July 26, 2022, and will expire <br />on that date in 2023. The ordinance language is based on a review of several other <br />communities adopted regulations. The proposed regulations create three basic categories for <br />regulation and potential licensing: (1) edible solid cannabinoids (such as gummies or bars), <br />which licenses will be available to existing licensed tobacco retailers; (2) liquid beverages <br />infused with THC cannabinoids that will be available to existing on-sale liquor licensees for <br />consumption on the premises; and (3) liquid beverages that will be available for sale through <br />the City’s municipal liquor retail facilities. The latter locations will also have the ability to <br />conduct sampling, consistent with the sales of off-sale alcohol.