Medical marijuana: Urgency ordinance vote set for Dec. 7
The Whitefish City Council on Monday directed city staff to draft an urgency ordinance dealing with the establishment of medical marijuana businesses in time for a vote at their Dec. 7 meeting.
An urgency ordinance can be approved without a public hearing before the Whitefish City-County Planning Board and is good for six months. The normal public process for an ordinance could take 90-100 days, city attorney John Phelps said.
The actual wording of the urgency ordinance to be brought back is unclear, but the council unanimously approved prohibiting all medical marijuana establishments on a temporary basis.
That would give the council enough time to consider a permanent ordinance that could include a buffer around schools, as requested by school superintendent Jerry House and Whitefish Middle School principal Kerry Drown.
It could also limit medical marijuana businesses to certain zones, such as industrial areas or the city's casino district. It could also require a conditional-use permit, where the council would hold a public hearing for each individual request and certain conditions could be imposed.
The matter was put on the council agenda after several people contacted the city planning office about medical marijuana businesses. City planning director David Taylor said medical marijuana dispensaries are becoming popular across Montana.
One person told planners he wanted to open a smoking accessories shop on Highway 40, possibly with a focus on medical marijuana. But according to that site's zoning, a retail business was not allowed without a manufacturing component.
Another person wanted to set up a marijuana-growing operation at a site on Highway 40 that had county zoning for suburban-agriculture.
Three men want to open a business at First Street and Spokane Avenue, near Whitefish Middle School, that would sell indoor growing equipment and supplies. It's unclear if the intent of the business is to help people grow marijuana for medical purposes.
Not brought to the attention of planning staff was zoning for grow operations in residential areas. That could fall under the category of "home-based businesses." People who grow tomatoes in their own homes, for example, can sell their produce at the farmers market.
Several councilors pointed out that they are not against the state's medical marijuana law — they just want time to create an ordinance that would protect schools, churches, businesses and neighborhoods.
Councilor Nick Palmer, who proposed a total prohibition in the urgency ordinance, said he assumed people who need medical marijuana are already getting it, even if it means driving to Missoula.