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MEMORANDUM <br />To:St. Anthony Village Planning Commission <br />From:Stephen Grittman, City Planner <br />Date:Planning Commission Meeting – April 16, 2024 <br />GC Project No.140.00 <br />Request:Cannabis – Zoning Ordinance Amendments <br />Property Address: NA <br />Property PID:NA <br />PROJECT DESCRIPTION <br />As the Planning Commission has discussed, the State of Minnesota has passed legislation during <br />the 2023 legislative session legalizing various aspects of cannabis use, sales, agriculture, and <br />manufacturing. This legislation follows 2022 legalization of certain low-potency hemp-based <br />THC products. The City of St. Anthony subsequently adopted regulations for hemp-THC <br />products. <br />In August of 2023, the City adopted a moratorium on cannabis-related businesses (as <br />authorized by the legislation), in anticipation of the State’s establishment of agency and rule- <br />making activities. The State has created the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) to carry <br />out the requirements of the legislation, with an originally-anticipated start date of January, <br />2025. While that date may shift some, the City is seeking to update its zoning regulations to <br />comply with the local land use impacts of the legislation – the subject of this memorandum. <br />One aspect of the City’s regulation is personal cannabis use, which was legalized by the 2023 <br />legislation, and took effect in August of last year. As a part of that process, the City separately <br />established a prohibition on smoking in public places, which is applicable to any smoking or <br />product. That aspect of the City’s regulation is not further addressed by the materials for this <br />review. <br />BACKGROUND AND REVIEW <br />The cannabis topic is complex and has many facets that impact local government. For the <br />purposes of this review, these materials limited to impacts on land use regulation and zoning. <br />For most of this, the requirements will be addressing business regulation – business type, <br />location, and related concerns. Municipal sales, law enforcement, and other administrative or <br />General Code aspects of the law are left to separate consideration by City Council.