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The first draft of Colorado Springs’ new rules for recreational marijuana sales was released ahead of Wednesday’s Planning Commission meeting.
The proposed ordinance, placed on the agenda for the Planning Commission, includes the strictest restrictions on the locations for the retail sales allowed by the measure city voters passed in November. The ordinance also outlines a path for the city to revert to a retail sales ban by adding a new ballot measure in April.
The ballot question passed in November allows for the existing medical marijuana facilities in the city to apply for licenses to sell recreational products as well. The measure overturned the retail sales ban Colorado Springs has enforced since recreational marijuana was legalized in Colorado in 2012.
According to the current draft of the ordinance, the retail stores have to be at least one mile away from an elementary or secondary school, drug or alcohol treatment facility and residential day care center. The retail stores would not be allowed to operate in any residential zone in the city or a residential unit.
The proposed rule follows through on the zoning setback the Colorado Springs City Council passed in September ahead of the election.
Backers of the legalization ballot measure said the mile setback would prevent any of the current medical marijuana businesses from being able to make the switch. The ballot question only required the stores to follow a 1,000-foot zoning setback from the other facilities.
The cultivation and testing facilities for retail marijuana have to be 1,000 feet away from schools, treatment facilities and any “public or private daycare facility” under the proposed ordinance. The setback is slightly more restrictive than the city’s rules for medical marijuana establishments, which focus on the distance from residential child care centers.
The ordinance also includes a cancellation clause. One section of the draft states that if the law passed in November is “repealed through a subsequent vote of the electorate at the spring 2025 election, this ordinance shall be repealed in its entirety as of the date of said 2025 vote.”
The April 1 election is when Colorado Springs voters will choose new City Council members and vote on any issues the city places on the ballot.
The Planning Commission, which reviews various development applications and proposals, will vote on its recommendation for the rules around marijuana sales at the 9 a.m. Wednesday meeting. The City Council will take up the ordinance at one of its first meetings of the year.
Letter to city
A group of the ballot measure’s backers recently sent a letter to the city asking them to enact the approved measure in good faith in 2025.
The letter to Mayor Yemi Mobolade last week criticizes the Colorado Springs City Council for attempting to undermine the recreational marijuana ballot measure in the lead-up to the November election. The ballot question received 54.7% of the votes in the election.
The 17 groups and people that signed the letter include the owners of medical marijuana stores in Colorado Springs, El Paso County Democrats chair Mischa Smith, a doctor and two leaders of El Paso County Progressive Veterans.
”}]] The proposed ordinance includes a one-mile zoning restriction for where recreational marijuana stores can open in Colorado Springs and outlines a path for the city to revert to a sales ban in the April election. Read More
