City of Cape Girardeau looks to limit locations for medical marijuana facilities; Jackson also seeks restrictions

Medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation and other associated facilities would be allowed in only a few areas of Cape Girardeau under restrictions drafted by city staff and recommended by the planning and zoning commission.

Dispensaries would be allowed only in parts of four nonresidential zoning districts and not within 1,000 feet of existing churches, day cares, and elementary and secondary schools, according to the proposal.

The buffer distance also would apply to all other medical marijuana facilities under the city's plan.

Cape Girardeau dispensaries would be allowed to operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. Cultivation and other marijuana facilities could operate around the clock.

Planning commission members on Wednesday recommended the restrictions as the state readies to license medical marijuana facilities later this year. The final decision on local zoning rules rests with the city council.

City planner Ryan Shrimplin said the goal is for the city to draft a proposed ordinance the council could approve by July.

The planning and zoning commission in Jackson also met Wednesday night and discussed a draft ordinance on medical marijuana that was presented last month to the Jackson Board of Aldermen.

Members of the Jackson planning board said some issues that may need to be considered include the minimum distance a medical marijuana dispensary can be located from a school, church or day care, as well as whether to regulate hours of operation and include a definition for "day care."

Jackson's commission will hold a public hearing June 12.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) will begin accepting permit applications for marijuana facilities Aug. 3.

Missouri voters last year approved a constitutional amendment permitting the use of medical-grade marijuana for the treatment of certain medical conditions for patients under the supervision of a prescribing physician.

At a distance

A maximum 1,000-foot buffer is specified in the amendment for all medical marijuana businesses, but cities can adopt less restrictive buffer zones.

The city planner said reducing the buffer distance to 500 feet would open up more areas for marijuana facilities to be located.

But city staff prefer keeping the 1,000-foot buffer, he said. The planning and zoning commission agreed.

Commission member Thomas Welch said, "I wouldn't want to do less than 1,000 feet."

The amendment bars cities from prohibiting medical marijuana facilities entirely, Shrimplin said. He told commissioners the city's proposal makes "reasonable accommodations" for such facilities.

Shrimplin said it is important to have straightforward zoning regulations governing marijuana facilities. "You don't want to play games with this," he said.

Under the city's plan, dispensaries only would be allowed in certain areas of the central business district, C-1 and C-2, general and highway commercial zones and in light manufacturing/industrial zones.

As a result of the required distance from churches, schools and day cares, only a small area of the central business district -- in the vicinity of Broadway and Henderson and Park avenues -- would qualify as a site for a dispensary, Shrimplin said.

No dispensaries could be located on Main Street or other streets in the downtown riverfront corridor, according to city officials.

Dispensaries could be located in some commercially zoned and light industrial areas, including properties along Kingshighway, Broadview, Gordonville Road, Siemers Drive, and in the Greater Cape Girardeau Business Park along Interstate 55 and the Doctors' Park complex on Mount Auburn Road, Shrimplin said.

In the zone

Cultivation, marijuana-infused products manufacturing, marijuana transportation and state-approved testing facilities would be allowed in light and heavy manufacturing/industrial zones, mostly in the southwest and northwest parts of the city, including areas along Southern Expressway and South Kingshighway, and in the Greater Cape Girardeau Business Park.

Marijuana-growing businesses also could be located in the city's two agricultural zones, although only one property, TeeHouse Complex golf business, formerly Arena Golf, is now zoned agricultural, Shrimplin said.

As a result, a city staff-produced map, which outlines zones where non-dispensary facilities could be located, does not show the agricultural zones, he said.

Missouri's Amendment 2 does allow patients and their caregivers to cultivate a small number of marijuana plants regardless of how the property is zoned, said Shrimplin.

Eligible patients could grow up to six plants, while caregivers could cultivate as many as 18 plants, he said.

Regardless of the actions of local government, DHSS will limit the number of marijuana businesses that will be licensed.

The state agency announced recently it will license 338 medical-marijuana facilities, including 192 dispensaries, 86 marijuana-infused-product manufacturing facilities and 60 cultivation facilities.

The amendment calls for the state to award 24 dispensary licenses in each of Missouri's eight congressional districts. It's uncertain how many of the 8th District's 24 would end up in Cape Girardeau, Shrimplin said.

Business editor Jay Wolz contributed to this report.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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