HomeMy WebLinkAbout5 - Ordinance Amendment - Cannabis and Hemp Uses, Sales, and Operations
To: Planning Commissioners
From: John Hinzman, Community Development Director
Date: February 27, 2023
Item: Ordinance Amendment – Cannabis and Hemp Uses, Sales, and Operations
Planning Commission Action Requested
Hold a public hearing and recommend action on a proposed amendment to Hastings City Code
Chapter 155 – Zoning regarding the uses, sales, and operations of cannabis and hemp businesses.
City Attorney Kori Land will be present at the meeting to assist with any questions.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Cannabis, Hemp, and Cannabinoids
Hemp and marijuana are two different names for cannabis, a flowering plant in the Cannabaceae
family. Cannabis contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an intoxicating component primarily
responsible for the “high” associated with cannabis. The term hemp is used to define cannabis
products that do not provide an intoxicating component. Cannabinoids are found in cannabis or
may be artificially derived. Cannabinoids may or may not provide intoxicating properties.
Changes in State Law
At the end of the 2022 Legislative Session, the state passed new laws allowing the sale of
cannabis/cannabinoid products, which went into effect July 1, 2022. The new law limits the sale of
intoxicating CBD products to individuals age 21 and older and implements regulations regarding
the packaging of edible CDB products. However, the new law has resulted in questions about local
regulatory authority, law enforcement, and taxing. The legislature is currently reviewing further
regulations to provide further guidance on cannabinoid products. Further amendments to state
law are expected.
City Moratorium on Cannabis
In August, 2022 the new legislation was reviewed by City Attorney Kori Land. A detailed document
was provided to the Public Safety Advisory Commission (PSAC). Police Chief Wilske explained our
role of developing a recommendation for the Hastings Public Safety Committee of the Council. At
Planning Commission Memorandum
this meeting, the commission recommended a one-year moratorium to allow time to gather
resources and prepare a recommendation. City council granted a moratorium of 6 months set to
expire in March of 2023. The moratorium allowed those that were selling cannabis products
allowed by the new changes in state law to continue, but prohibited additional businesses from
selling products.
PSAC Review of Cannabis
Over several meetings between September, 2022 and January, 2023 PSAC reviewed potential city
regulations on cannabis. PSAC invited existing Hastings retailers to share their experiences selling
the product and learned that cannabis products may include not only edibles by other products
such as beverages. A draft report of recommendations to allow retail sales of edibles in
commercial zoned districts was unanimously approved by PSAC. The recommendations serve as
the template for the proposed ordinance. Please see the attached PSAC Report on THC\CBD for
further information.
PROPOSED ORDINANCE
The proposed ordinance includes the following:
1. Includes definitions in the current state legislature bill, which don’t even exist in state law
yet, such as “adult-use cannabinoid” to try to capture all of the uses of today and
tomorrow.
2. Allows the following uses in the following districts:
a. Ag District by Special Use: farm operations, if they have 100 contiguous acres and
no sales are permitted on the same property
b. C-3 and C-4 District by Special Use: cannabis product retail sales (see performance
standards below)
c. I-1 by Special Use: manufacturing, testing, processing (these are the ones that have
odor issues).
3. Performance standards for retail:
a. Includes all of the conditions requested by PSAC
b. Hours of operation cannot be outside of 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.
c. Requires a security plan, as approved by the Police Chief
d. Allows for compliance checks
e. Prohibits purchase, use and possession to anyone under 21
f. Clerk must be 21 to sell products
g. Compliance with zoning district and licensing/registration requirements
h. No sale of cannabis products with more than .3% THC is allowed (this might get
preempted if the bill passes as it would prohibit sales of products the legislature
wants to allow)
ATTACHMENTS
• Ordinance Amendment
• PSAC Report on THC\CBD
ORDINANCE NO. XXX
AN ORDINANCE FOR THE CITY OF HASTINGS, MINNESOTA, AMENDING
HASTINGS CITY CODE CHAPTER 155 - ZONING ORDINANCE REGARDING USES,
SALES AND OPERATIONS OF CANNABIS AND HEMP BUSINESSES
The City Council of the City of Hastings, Dakota County, Minnesota, does hereby
ordain as follows:
SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. The Code of the City of Hastings, County of Dakota,
State of Minnesota, Chapter 155, Section 155.21.D Special Use Permits in the A -
Agricultural District shall be amended as follows:
D. Uses by Special Permit
5. Cannabis, medical cannabis and hemp growing, cultivating or farming operations
pursuant to the following conditions:
a. A minimum of 100 contiguous acres under single ownership is required for
the operation;
b. The operator must be licensed by the State of Minnesota;
c. The sale of cannabis products is not permitted on the same property as the
operation.
SECTION 2. AMENDMENT. The Code of the City of Hastings, County of Dakota,
State of Minnesota, Chapter 155, Section 155.30.C Special Use Permits in the C-3
Community Regional Commerce District shall be amended as follows:
C. Uses by Special Permit
10. Cannabis retailer, edible retailer, medical retailer, and medical cannabis
distribution facility that comply with the requirements in City Code Section
155.07.J.
SECTION 3. AMENDMENT. The Code of the City of Hastings, County of Dakota,
State of Minnesota, Chapter 155, Section 155.32.C Special Use Permits in the C-4
Regional Shopping Center District shall be amended as follows:
C. Uses by Special Permit
6. Cannabis retailer, edible retailer, medical retailer, and medical cannabis distribution
facility that comply with the requirements in City Code Section 155.07.J.
SECTION 4. AMENDMENT. The Code of the City of Hastings, County of Dakota,
State of Minnesota, Chapter 155, Section 155.34.C Special Use Permits in the I-1
Industrial Park District shall be amended as follows:
C. Uses by Special Permit
4. Cannabis, medical cannabis or hemp manufacturer, testing facility, wholesaler and
processor.
SECTION 5. AMENDMENT. The Code of the City of Hastings, County of Dakota,
State of Minnesota, Chapter 155, Section 155.07 SPECIAL PROVISIONS shall be
amended by adding the following section for Cannabis Businesses as follows:
J. Cannabis Businesses. Because the City recognizes that persons under the age of
twenty-one (21) years may purchase or otherwise obtain, possess and use
intoxicating cannabis products; and the sale of these products to persons under
twenty-one (21) years of age are violations of State and Federal laws; and because
the use of intoxicating cannabis products by those underage subsequently places a
financial burden on all levels of government, this chapter is intended to regulate the
sale of intoxicating cannabis products and cannabis-related devices for the purpose
of enforcing and furthering existing laws.
1. The following words, terms, and phrases when used in this Chapter shall have
the meaning ascribed to them in this Section except where the context clearly
indicates a different meaning:
ADULT-USE CANNABINOID or CANNABIS PRODUCT: means any
cannabinoid product authorized for sale under Minnesota state law. It includes
edible cannabinoid products but not medical cannabinoid products.
CANNABINOID: means any of the chemical constituents of hemp plants or
cannabis plants that are naturally occurring, biologically active, and act on the
cannabinoid receptors of the brain. Cannabinoid includes but is not limited to
tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol.
CANNABINOID or CANNABIS PRODUCT: means any of the following:
a. Cannabis concentrate;
b. A product infused with cannabinoids, including but not limited to
tetrahydrocannabinol, extracted or derived from cannabis plants or
cannabis flower;
c. Any other product that contains cannabis concentrate;
d. A product infused with artificially derived cannabinoids;
e. Adult-use cannabinoid products;
f. Edible cannabinoid products;
g. Medical cannabinoid products.
It does not include cannabis flower, artificially derived cannabinoids or
hemp-derived consumer products.
CANNABIS: means a compound of the cannabis plant known as cannabidiol.
CANNABIS BUSINESS: means a cultivator, manufacturer, retailer, wholesaler,
transporter, testing facility, event organizer, delivery service, edible retailer,
medical cultivator, medical processor and medical retailer, of cannabis,
cannabis products or cannabis related devices.
CANNABIS RELATED DEVICES: means any equipment, products or materials
of any kind which are used, intended for use, or designed for use in
repackaging, storing, smoking, vaporizing, or containing cannabis, or for
ingesting, inhaling or otherwise introducing cannabis or cannabis products into
the human body.
CERTIFIED HEMP: means hemp products that have been tested and found to
meet the requirements of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 18K, and the rules
adopted thereunder by the State of Minnesota.
EDIBLE CANNABINOID or CANNABIS PRODUCT: means any product that is
intended to be eaten or consumed as a food or beverage, contains a
cannabinoid in combination with food ingredients, and is not a drug.
HEMP OR INDUSTRIAL HEMP: means the “Industrial Hemp” definition
provided under Minnesota Statutes Section 18K.02 subdivision 3.
HEMP MANUFACTURING: means the ability to facilitate the manufacturing of
industrial hemp.
INTOXICATING CANNABINOID or CANNABIS: means a cannabinoid,
including an artificially derived cannabinoid, that when introduced into the
human body impairs the central nervous system or impairs the human audio,
visual, or mental processes. Intoxicating cannabinoid includes but is not limited
to, any THC.
MEDICAL CANNABIS: means the definition provided under Minnesota
Statutes Section 152.22, subdivision 6.
MEDICAL CANNABIS DISTRIBUTION FACILITY: means a facility operated by
a medical cannabis manufacturer for purposes of distributing medical cannabis
in accordance with Minnesota Statutes Section 152.29, subdivision 1(a), and
the requirements of the Commissioner of Minnesota Department of Health or
other applicable state law.
MOVABLE PLACE OF BUSINESS: means any form of business operated out
of a truck, van, automobile, trailer, tent, table, or booth, that is transportable
and not a fixed address store front or other permanent type of structure.
NON-INTOXICATING CANNABINOID or CANNABIS PRODUCT: means
products made from substances extracted from certified hemp plants that do
not produce intoxicating effects when consumed by any route of administration.
This may include tinctures, creams, lotions, ointments, or salves.
THC: means tetrahydrocannabinol.
2. Performance Standards:
a. A cannabis business shall only operate in an authorized zoning district
with approved State and local license or registration.
b. Any person selling or distributing cannabis products shall require proof
of age by means of government issued photographic identification from
the prospective purchaser showing purchaser is twenty-one (21) years
old or older.
c. Signage identifying the legal sales age and the age verification
requirement shall be posted at the point of sale. The required signage
shall be posted in a manner so that it is clearly visible to anyone who is
considering or making a purchase. The sign shall provide notice that all
persons responsible for selling these products must verify the age of any
person under thirty (30) years of age, by means of photographic
identification required in this section, containing the bearer’s date of
birth.
d. Cannabis products must comply with the testing, labeling and packaging
requirements in Minnesota State law.
e. No sales or distribution of intoxicating cannabis products shall be
allowed at the licensed premises after 10 p.m. or before 8:00 a.m.
f. It shall be unlawful for a retailer to allow the sale of intoxicating cannabis
products or cannabis related devices by any means whereby a customer
has access to such items without having to request the item from the
retailer or the retailer’s employee. There shall be a physical exchange
of the intoxicating cannabis product or cannabis-related devices
between the retailer or the retailer’s employee and the customer. All
intoxicating cannabis products and cannabis-related devices shall be
either stored behind a counter or other area not freely accessible to
customers, or in a storage unit or case not open and accessible to the
general public.
g. All retail establishments of intoxicating cannabis products shall have a
security plan approved by the Police Chief stating how the facility will
address public health, welfare and safety concerns including, but not
limited to security, fencing, lighting, window coverings, door placement,
and landscaping.
h. Compliance Checks and Inspections:
All licensed premises must be open to inspection by the local law
enforcement or other authorized City official during regular business
hours. From time to time, but at least once per year, the City will conduct
compliance checks by engaging persons between the ages of
seventeen (17) and twenty-one (21) years, to enter the licensed
premises to attempt to purchase intoxicating cannabis products.
Persons used for compliance checks are not guilty of the unlawful
purchase or attempted purchase, nor the unlawful possession of
intoxicating cannabis products when the items are obtained or
attempted to be obtained as a part of the compliance check. No person
used in compliance checks may attempt to use a false identification
misrepresenting the person's age, and all persons lawfully engaged in a
compliance check may answer all questions about the person's age
asked by the retailer or his or her employee and shall produce any
identification, if any exists, for which he or she is asked. Nothing in this
section prohibits compliance checks authorized by State or Federal laws
for educational, research or training purposes, or required for the
enforcement of a particular State or Federal law.
3. Prohibited Acts:
a. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, purchase, obtain or otherwise
provide any intoxicating cannabis product to any person under the age of
twenty-one (21).
b. It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of twenty-one (21) to
possess any intoxicating cannabis product. This chapter shall not apply
to persons under the age of 21 lawfully involved in a compliance check.
c. It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of twenty-one (21) to
use or consume any intoxicating cannabis product, unless it is legally
authorized medical cannabis.
d. It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of twenty-one (21) to
attempt to disguise the person’s true age by the use of a false form of
identification, whether the identification is that of another person or one
in which the age of the person has been modified or tampered with, to
represent an age older than the actual age of the person, in order to
purchase any intoxicating cannabis product.
e. No adult-use cannabinoid or cannabis product may contain more than
0.3% of THC.
f. No edible cannabis product can contain an amount of THC that exceeds
the per serving or per package requirements in Minnesota State law.
g. No intoxicating cannabis product may be sold to an obviously intoxicated
person or a person under the influence of a controlled substance.
h. No one under the age of twenty-one (21) shall sell intoxicating cannabis
products.
i. Intoxicating cannabis products cannot be sold in vending machines, by
transient merchants, peddlers, at a movable place of business, through
a drive-through window, at special events, home occupations, by internet
sales or delivery service.
j. Intoxicating cannabis products cannot be sold at exclusive liquor stores
or on-sale liquor establishments.
k. No sampling or free donations or distributions of intoxicating cannabis
products is allowed.
l. No sales of intoxicating cannabis products may be completed through
self-check-out. The retailer or retailer’s employee must process each
transaction at a point of sale.
SECTION 6. SUMMARY PUBLICATION. Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes
Section 412.191, in the case of a lengthy ordinance, a summary may be published. While
a copy of the entire ordinance is available without cost at the office of the City Clerk, the
following summary is approved by the City Council and shall be published in lieu of
publishing the entire ordinance.
The text amendment adopted by the Hastings City Council on
, 2023 modifies the City Ordinance to regulate cannabis and hemp
operations and uses by allowing them in specific zoning districts with performance
standards.
SECTION 7. MORATORIUM TERMINATION; EFFECT ON EXISTING AND NEW
BUSINESSES.
A. Upon adoption of this ordinance, the Interim Ordinance Prohibiting the Establishment
of New Uses or the Expansion of Existing Uses Related to Cannabis and Intoxicating
Cannabinoids (CBD) Sales, Testing, Manufacturing or Distribution, adopted on
September 19, 2022, is hereby terminated.
B. Existing cannabis businesses that do not comply with this ordinance as of the date of
adoption may be allowed to continue to operate as a cannabis business until the
Effective Date, after which time they shall be required to be in full compliance with City
licensing or registration requirements and all zoning requirements.
C. No new cannabis business shall be allowed to open or start operating from the date
of adoption of this ordinance without being in full compliance with all City ordinances.
SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect on
July 1, 2023.
Passed this day of , 2023.
Mary Fasbender, Mayor
Attest:
Kelly Murtaugh, City Clerk
Published in the _________ on [Date].
City Council Memorandum
To: Mayor Fasbender & City Councilmembers
From: City Administrator Dan Wietecha
Date: September 19, 2022
Item: Interim Ordinance on Cannabis and Cannabinoids
Council Action Requested:
Second Reading and Adoption of Interim Ordinance Prohibiting the Establishment of New Uses or the
Expansion of Existing Uses Related to Cannabis and Intoxicating Cannabinoids (CBD) Sales, Testing,
Manufacturing or Distribution
Background Information:
At the end of the 2022 Legislative Session, the state passed new laws surrounding the sale of
cannabis/cannabinoid products, which went into effect July 1. The new law limits the sale of intoxicating
CBD products to individuals age 21 and older and implements regulations regarding the packaging of
edible CDB products. However the new law has resulted in questions about local regulatory authority,
law enforcement, and taxing.
On August 1, the City Council referred the subject to the Public Safety Advisory Commission. PSAC met
August 18 and recommended a twelve-month interim ordinance to allow time for adequate study. The
Public Safety Committee of City Council met September 1. They discussed concerns about public safety,
community impact, and supporting local business; they recommended a six-month interim ordinance. The
ordinance can be shortened or extended depending on progress of the study.
Financial Impact:
Not applicable
Committee Discussion:
• Public Safety Advisory Commission meeting 8/18/2022
• Public Safety Committee meeting 9/1/2022
Attachment:
• Interim Ordinance Prohibiting the Establishment of New Uses or the Expansion of Existing Uses
Related to Cannabis and Intoxicating Cannabinoids (CBD) Sales, Testing, Manufacturing or
Distribution