The Sioux Falls Planning Commission has recommended that the Sioux Falls City Council approve the city’s proposed zoning regulations for medical marijuana, despite pushback from those involved with the industry.
The proposed regulations state that medical marijuana dispensaries and testing facilities must be placed 1,000 feet away from “sensitive uses,” which include single-family homes, twin homes or townhomes, churches, schools, daycares, public use facilities and parks.
If prospective owners applied for a conditional use permit, the establishment would only have to be 500 feet away from the sensitive uses if granted by the planning commission, except for schools, which require a 1,000-foot separation under state law.
The permit process would open the proposal up to public input, and require extra steps to be taken to separate the establishment from the surrounding area.
Several people attending the meeting expressed concerns about those restrictions, which leave few areas in central, southern and eastern Sioux Falls where medical cannabis could be sold, according to maps drawn up by the city.
More:Here’s where medical marijuana could be sold under Sioux Falls’ proposed rules
“Access to patients is the most important thing when putting this together,” said Seth Pearman, the attorney general for the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, which opened the state’s first marijuana dispensary.
Pearman said the sensitive uses restrictions should be scrapped, save for the…
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The Sioux Falls Planning Commission has recommended that the Sioux Falls City Council approve the city’s proposed zoning regulations for medical marijuana, despite pushback from those involved with the industry.
The proposed regulations state that medical marijuana dispensaries and testing facilities must be placed 1,000 feet away from “sensitive uses,” which include single-family homes, twin homes or townhomes, churches, schools, daycares, public use facilities and parks.
If prospective owners applied for a conditional use permit, the establishment would only have to be 500 feet away from the sensitive uses if granted by the planning commission, except for schools, which require a 1,000-foot separation under state law.
The permit process would open the proposal up to public input, and require extra steps to be taken to separate the establishment from the surrounding area.
Several people attending the meeting expressed concerns about those restrictions, which leave few areas in central, southern and eastern Sioux Falls where medical cannabis could be sold, according to maps drawn up by the city.
More:Here’s where medical marijuana could be sold under Sioux Falls’ proposed rules
“Access to patients is the most important thing when putting this together,” said Seth Pearman, the attorney general for the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, which opened the state’s first marijuana dispensary.
Pearman said the sensitive uses restrictions should be scrapped, save for the…