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Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes May 21, 2024 Page 8 1 “mezzo-“ business which does some form of industrial processing and proposes to also 2 sell retail products as an aspect of the business. The number of parcels impacted will 3 depend on the separation distance chosen. 4 5 · 2955 Pentagon Drive (Step by Step Montessori): This facility is located in the St. 6 Anthony Shopping Center, zoned Commercial. Much of the shopping center area 7 would be prohibited from retail sales, again depending on the size of the separation 8 distance adopted. 9 10 As noted, the statute permits (but does not require) the City to create exclusion 11 distances from schools, parks, and childcare facilities to any cannabis facility that 12 includes retail sales. For St. Anthony, the proximity of schools and parks to any 13 potential Commercial or Industrial site is not applicable, given the geography and land 14 use pattern. The primary issue would be the location of childcare facilities in the south 15 portion of the city. There are three such facilities that would, if a separation distance is 16 adopted, create an exclusion area for surrounding property. 17 18 At its April meeting, the Planning Commission discussed whether the exclusion area 19 was relevant to daycare, based on an assumption that unlike schools and parks, there is 20 less likely to be unsupervised child presence using daycare facilities. The zoning 21 action for the City would be an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance that eliminates 22 the current total prohibition of cannabis businesses, and replacement with language 23 related to separation where applicable. 24 25 Although no impacts are foreseen for Schools and Parks as noted, staff would 26 recommend adoption of the full State-allowed exclusion area for those uses (1,000 feet 27 for schools, and 500 feet for parks). There continue to be discussions at the State level 28 (both legislatively and agency-driven) that will continue to refine aspects of the law. 29 As such, these protections would be consistent with the allowances, and address any 30 unforeseen circumstances until additional guidance is provided. Guidance is likely to 31 come from a variety of sources, including both the League of Minnesota Cities and the 32 Office of Cannabis Management (in the form of a model ordinance). 33 34 For childcare facilities, there is likely to be some pressure to adopt a limited separation 35 zone from retail cannabis outlets. As noted, the full 500 feet would significantly limit 36 retail outlets in the south area of the City. A distance of 250 feet would have a lesser 37 impact, but still affect some potential sales locations. In the alternative, the City could 38 create a limitation that prohibits retail sales on premises that abut a parcel with 39 childcare, rather than default to the distance allowance. This would be effectively the 40 same as a “1-foot” buffer. The attached draft ordinance incorporates alternative 41 language for Planning Commission review and discussion. The OCM has not 42 answered the question if licensed in-home daycares will need the buffer. 43 44 The Planning Commission is requested to further discuss the separation distance 45 aspects of the potential regulations, and raise other issues as they may impact a final 46 ordinance adoption. With these comments, and if the proposed Ordinance amendments