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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes <br />June 11, 2024 <br />Page 5 <br />1 One aspect of the City’s regulation to note is personal cannabis use, which was legalized by the <br />2 2023 legislation, and took effect in August of last year. As part of that process, the City <br />3 separately established a prohibition on smoking in public places, which is applicable to any <br />4 smoking or product. That aspect of the City’s regulation is not further addressed by the materials <br />5 for this review. <br />6 <br />7 As additional guidance and requirements are adopted by the Office of Cannabis Management <br />8 and/or the League of Minnesota Cities, additional changes or amendments are likely to follow <br />9 this proposed amendment. <br />10 <br />11 Staff requests that the City Council consider adoption of the Ordinance 2024-03. As a zoning <br />12 regulation, it may be adopted in a single reading, or the Council may consider the item over three <br />13 readings as is common to other Ordinance amendments as desired. Staff recommends that the <br />14 moratorium ordinance enacted in August continue in force as further materials are generated by <br />15 the State of Minnesota over the next several months. <br />16 <br />17 The Planning Commission reviewed the proposed regulations and ordinance at their meeting in <br />18 April and then at a public hearing on May 21, 2024. No members of the public submitted <br />19 comments, nor were any present to comment at the hearing. <br />20 <br />21 The Commission voted to recommend approval of the proposed ordinance, with the bulk of the <br />22 discussion centered on the prospective buffer distance between commercial childcare facilities <br />23 and any cannabis retailer. The statute permits the City to create a buffer of up to 500 feet for such <br />24 facilities. The Planning Commission believes that this distance was overly restrictive, given the <br />25 nature of the uses, and the mapping of potential exclusion zones if adopted to the fullest extent. <br />26 Following its discussion, the Commission recommended a separation buffer of 100 feet between <br />27 cannabis retailers and licensed commercial childcare facilities. <br />28 <br />29 Mr. Grittman provided a detailed background and review including Land Use Aspects of <br />30 Cannabis Legalization, and Local Limitations. The primary zoning separation requirements <br />31 would apply to the daycare facilities in the south portion of St. Anthony as follows: <br />32 <br />33 3055 Old Hwy 8 (Ikram Child Care) – Any exclusion distance for the daycare facilities <br />34 at 3055 Old Hwy 8 would result in a prohibition of retail sales for other potential <br />35 commercial/industrial uses on that site. Depending on the separation distance chosen, the <br />36 industrial property south of Highway 88 could be impacted – the closest distance to <br />37 those areas appears to be approximately 270 feet. <br />38 <br />39 2812 Anthony Lane South (Jack and Jill Preschool and Childcare) – This daycare parcel <br />40 is located in an industrial park area. Exclusion of cannabis businesses of any distance <br />41 will impact some potential retail locations, primarily as a part of a “micro-“ or “mezzo-“ <br />42 business which does some form of industrial processing and proposes to also sell retail <br />43 products as an aspect of the business. The number of parcels impacted will depend on <br />44 the separation distance chosen. <br />45 <br />9