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Council Meeting Minutes for January 6, 2025 <br />Page 8 of 10 <br />for the constructed improvements of the Adelaide 5th and 6th Additions. <br />Approve Ordinance on Cannabis and Ordinance Amending Fee Schedule and Related <br />Summary Ordinances for Publication <br />At its November 18, 2024, meeting, the City Council directed staff to draft an ordinance <br />regulating cannabis businesses within the City of Hugo and provided high-level direction on <br />certain ordinance items. Staff received additional feedback from the EDA at its November 19, <br />2024, meeting and from the Ordinance Review Committee before drafting the ordinance. Staff <br />proposed an ordinance that created definitions, allowed cannabis retail businesses in commercial <br />zoning districts and all other cannabis business types in industrial zoning districts, established a <br />process for cannabis businesses to register with the city, and created performance standards for <br />cannabis businesses. <br />The Planning Commission had reviewed the ordinance and held a public hearing at its December <br />12, 2024, meeting. Two people spoke at the hearing, both requesting that cannabis cultivation be <br />allowed as a conditional use in rural zoning districts. The Planning Commission discussed the <br />ordinance and the request from the public and was generally comfortable with the proposed <br />ordinance as written. The Commission voted unanimously to recommend its approval to the <br />City Council. Staff also proposed a set of fees related to cannabis business registration and <br />penalties to be added to the city’s fee schedule. <br />A member of the audience, Dean Anderson, requested that this item be removed from the <br />Consent Agenda. <br />Dean Anderson, of 7503 177th, spoke about efforts to help the City better understand the <br />cannabis industry and said the City was taking a cautious approach by being more restrictive. He <br />talked about the revisions they had proposed, which he felt had not been given much <br />consideration. He requested a clear answer regarding a plan forward or an explanation of why <br />cannabis was not classified as an agricultural product. He stated that he did not see cannabis as <br />being different from any other product and expressed willingness to work with the City to find <br />middle ground. <br />Mayor Weidt recalled that Dean had attended meetings on the moratorium, met with staff, and <br />presented their proposed revisions and opinions to the Planning Commission. Weidt stated that <br />the Planning Commission had considered the revisions and ultimately voted to approve the <br />ordinance as proposed. He asked Dean if it was fair to say there was no support for their <br />revisions, and Dean agreed. Weidt noted that the ordinance had come to the Council with a <br />unanimous recommendation for approval from the Planning Commission. <br />Weidt then asked the Council if they wanted to open the topic for further discussion, but the <br />Council showed no interest in doing so. <br />The Mayor explained that public feedback had been taken at the hearing and that the Planning <br />Commission had made its decision based on its opinion and judgment. He added that the <br />Council follows a similar process and that the Ordinance Review Committee provides an <br />ongoing opportunity to revise ordinances as needed.