Medical marijuana growers and distributors that want to set up shop in Duluth would be limited to areas of the city that are largely industrial or undeveloped, according to plans released by the city.
The proposal would restrict operations to specific zones, including industrial areas in the Lincoln Park and West Duluth neighborhoods, the former U.S. Steel plant in Morgan Park and two parcels of land north of the Duluth International Airport.
The Duluth Planning Commission is set to review the proposed regulations on Tuesday and make a recommendation to the City Council, which will make a final determination.
If approved, the regulations could go into place after the city’s six-month moratorium on medical marijuana operations ends in June.
“This use is not defined in the city’s Unified Development Code,” Keith Hamre, the city's director of planning and construction, said of medical marijuana facilities. “The city council in November gave us a very short moratorium to do a planning study and look at the land-use impacts of medical cannabis and see what would need to be changed in the unified code.”
The recommendations - which Hamre said were developed based on state law and current zoning regulations - would prohibit the growth or distribution of medical marijuana within 1,000 feet of public and private schools and 200 feet of residential zones.
Hamre said city planners concluded that manufacturing and testing facilities - which could emit odors - should be limited to industrial areas. Dispensaries, however, would need to be accessible to the public and could be located within mixed-use, high-traffic areas, he said.
The plans also recommend that any permits be granted on an interim, three-year basis.
“That would allow for a review, to see if there are any issues that need to be addressed,” Hamre said. “There could be changes in the standards of the permit - hours of operation, security measures, access issues - that need to be dealt with.”
The proposal identifies several specific areas of the city that would be suitable for a facility - whether or not those areas are readily developable or already occupied. They include:
Land north of the Duluth International Airport, where AAR Aircraft Services is located.
The industrial corridor along the St. Louis River, extending from Railroad Street to approximately 40th Avenue West and including a portion of Garfield Avenue.
The industrial complex located off the intersection of Raleigh Street and Central Avenue.
Several smaller parcels in the Riverside, Morgan Park and Gary-New Duluth neighborhoods.
There is likely to be a demand for a dispensary to open in or near the city when medical marijuana becomes legal in pill, liquid and vapor form on July 1. The only licensed operation in Northeastern Minnesota is planned for Hibbing - more than a 150-mile round trip from Duluth. And that dispensary may not even be up and running until summer 2016.
However, efforts to bring a dispensary to Duluth would require the relocation of the Hibbing site, or a change in state law to allow for additional facilities. The Minnesota Department of Health has already selected the two licensed manufacturers and eight distribution sites authorized under law.
Duluth was not among the cities previously considered by the state, as the City Council approved a six-month moratorium that took effect on Dec. 13.
Some city councilors and planning commissioners had objected to the moratorium, saying Duluth could lose out on potentially lucrative tax benefits of a medical marijuana operation. But Hamre stressed that there would be additional opportunities after the city took time to study potential locations.
The zoning proposal goes before the Duluth Planning Commission at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Duluth City Hall. After that, the recommendations will go to the City Council in the form of an ordinance, with a final vote possible next month.
Click here to view a PDF of the complete report.
