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After further investigation into allowing cannabis operations in Newport, the city found that it is unachievable under the state’s current guidelines.
Newport has held multiple discussions surrounding medical cannabis operations in the city, with some commissioners for and against the idea. City management said they began looking into the state’s zoning tool, which tells them where the operations could be located, but it was missing numerous daycares. The state has a 1,000-foot rule from any dispensary, cultivator, or testing location to the boundary lines of a school or daycare.
“Once we really got into the weeds of creating our own map, you find out that there are very few locations that are commercially available and viable and that would meet the city zoning for similar uses,” Newport Assistant City Manager Brian Steffen said.
The green area on the map shows where the operations could be located.
Steffen said some of the areas were “questionable,” such as the one on Pavilion Parkway, which has a boundary line very close to the T.J. Maxx and Dick’s Sporting Goods part of the shopping center.
Steffen said what the city was left with was Newport on the Levee. After speaking with the general manager at Newport on the Levee, Steffen said the company explicitly restricts dispensaries by name from leasing at any of their centers.
“When we started really looking at this thing further, it really came down to that there is no viable location in the city right now under the current law and the rules that are in place with the state,” he said.
If the rules were to change, the city could revisit the topic.
In November, all 10 NKY cities that placed medical cannabis on ballots passed the item. Further, every city in Kentucky that placed the item on their ballot voted yes.
“I think a lot of communities pretty much raced for that legislation, and I’m real skeptical about whether the due diligence was done, and I personally thought that was very important to do here,” Newport Vice Mayor Julie Smith Morrow said.
In February, the commission voted 3-2 to advance the topic to the legislative phase, with Newport Commissioner Ken Rechtin and Smith Morrow voting no.
“This is probably the only topic in the time I’ve been on the board, this is my third year, that the board disagreed, but I want to say that it was done in a respectful way,” Newport Commissioner Mike Radwanski said.
Newport Commissioner Aaron Sutherland said he would like to revisit the idea if anything changes with the rules.
“I was a pretty strong proponent of it. I think that throughout the state, it is a very popular thing, and I’ve heard from a lot of people in our community that were in favor of bringing this forward,” Sutherland said. “So, the map being how it is, we can look at it and tell that it’s just not viable at this time. But if it becomes viable, I would like to revisit.”
Newport Mayor Tom Guidugli Jr. said that if Newport on the Levee ever changes its mind or daycares close down in the community, the voters can still vote on the item, which would be an option moving forward.
“}]] The city said they began looking at the state’s zoning tool, which shows where the operations could be located, but it was missing daycares. Read More
