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June 11, 2024 <br />Page 3 <br />Cannabis Retailers, Medical Cannabis Retailers, Medical Cannabis Combination Business, and <br />Low-Potency Edible Hemp Retailer. <br />Cannabis “Mezzo-“ and “Micro-“ businesses are essentially processor facilities that may, if <br />licensed and appropriate under local zoning, qualify for a retail sales license as a component of <br />their industrial enterprise. The difference relates to licensed processing space – up to 5,000 <br />square feet for “Micro-business”, and from 5,001 to 15,000 square feet for “Mezzo-business”. <br />Cannabis retailers, by contrast, are specifically retail-oriented, in which no industrial activity <br />(manufacturing, processing, etc,) occurs. Medical cannabis retailing or combination businesses <br />are those that may retail consumer products, but are also licensed to dispense medical <br />cannabis treatments. Low potency Hemp retailers are those that are currently eligible to sell <br />such products under the prior 2022 legislation. In St. Anthony, those potential locations are <br />limited to only those also with a current tobacco sales license. <br />Local Limitations. The legislation permits the City to limit cannabis sales, with specific <br />limitations on that authority. Essentially, those limitations are as follows: <br />a.The State OCM will assume authority for licensing all cannabis and hemp-related <br />businesses. <br />b.As a part of the State’s licensing process, the OCM will contact the local government to <br />know if the City will “register” the business location, which is an information process, <br />not a licensing authority. Zoning compliance will be an aspect of local “registration”. <br />c.A City may not enact any ordinance that has the effect of prohibiting cannabis <br />businesses. <br />d.A City must provide for an allowance of at least one cannabis-retail facility, whether that <br />is a “Micro-“ or “Mezzo-“ business, a cannabis retailer. This allowance increases by one <br />additional business for each 12,500 residents. <br />e.St. Anthony’s current population of under 10,000 requires the allowance of at least one <br />licensed retailer. The City may by ordinance limit the number of licensees to its <br />minimum registration of one retail location, although the City is not required to do so. <br />f.The law permits the City to limit the location of cannabis businesses by routine zoning, <br />and also by a separation distance from certain listed land uses. This allowance appears <br />to relate to any cannabis business, not just retailers. <br />g.The law permits the City to enact a minimum distance of 500 feet separation from any <br />daycare, residential treatment center, or an “attraction within a public park that is <br />regularly used by minors, including a playground or athletic field”. There are three <br />commercial daycare operations in the City that are within 500 feet of Commercial or <br />Industrial zoned properties – these are highlighted on an attached map. All of these <br />would create exclusion zones prohibiting cannabis businesses around them if the City <br />adopts the separation distance. <br />h.The law permits the City to enact a minimum distance of 1,000 feet separation from any <br />school. There are three school sites in the City – Wilshire Park Elementary, St. Anthony <br />Middle and High Schools, and St. Charles Boromeo School. None of these schools are <br />within 1,000 of any Commercial or Industrial zoned land. <br />i.Based on a preliminary analysis, the distances from the City’s parklands are all more <br />than 500 feet to any commercial or industrial zoned land (Emerald, Silverwood, or <br />27