NEWS

Downtown marijuana sales banned

Don Reid
dreid@thedailyreporter.com
Jim Knaack

COLDWATER — After extensive lobbying, debate and shifts in position, the Coldwater City Council Monday night voted 5-4 to ban recreational marijuana sales downtown.

The vote did open up the C-4 zoned area around I-69 and East Chicago to unlimited pot shops with application for special use permits to begin Oct. 15.

Mayor Tom Kramer said “this will put (the issue) to rest. There’s a little bit of sarcasm in that.”

Discussion and a motion began with Councilwoman Emily Rissman who said she had talked to the principal of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School at 79 Harrison St. He was opposed to reducing the distance between sales shops and the school to 500 feet.

On her motion, the council voted 8-1 to increase the distance back to 1,000 feet. This left only South Monroe in the C-2 zoning available for retail marijuana sales.

Councilman Travis Machan suggested “nothing we do is going to make everyone happy. We might as well compromise and make everyone a little bit happy.”

He and Rissman voted against the final motion to ban downtown sales, along with Second Ward Councilmen Jim Knaack and Chad Johnson. Both of them opposed all retail marijuana sales.

With the city trying to promote downtown for new business, Knaack said “people are not going to come downtown and stay to buy anything. They are going to buy (marijuana) and take it home to consume it.”

Branch County Economic Growth Alliance Director Lisa Miller told the council there has been substantial investments downtown with a new apartment project and $1.5 million in building improvements. She others projects are pending for downtown

But Miller warned all these projects have been put on hold because there are short term holds by those who want the buildings for marijuana sales locations, halting further development.

A petition of 335 signatures of city voters was presented to the clerk Monday morning demanding the question of downtown sales be put on the ballot for voters to decide.

Mayor Kramer said the city would not honor the petition because it had not met the marijuana regulatory law passed statewide by voters in 2018.

It applies only to two issues. “It applies on whether the city could opt in or opt out. Or it applies to limiting the number city wide as it applies to retail marijuana.”

The petition language also was not in the form of an ordinance amendment required by state law. Kramer said the city “respects, appreciate, and acknowledges the efforts of the petitioners. We will take it under consideration.”

The council also could not legally put a zoning issue on the ballot itself. A petition with 20 percent of voters rather than the 5 percent under the marijuana law could be presented.

Knaack said the marijuana vote failed in Branch County and only passed in the city by 130 votes. He noted Coldwater is the only city of its size looking at putting sales downtown.

Knaack said “we are not disallowing it forever. If we allow it now we are allowing it forever.”

The issue has torn the city since June when the council lifted its moratorium to allow recreational marijuana in the city after voters legalized manufacture and sales in 2018.

As staff prepared for license applications, City Attorney Megan Angel recognized a problem with granting licenses.

She learned by setting a 500-foot buffer restriction between licenses it would need to implement a scoring system to award limited licenses or invite lawsuits.

The original limitation would allow only one license downtown.

The Planning Commission had voted in June to allow downtown sales in a 5-2 vote with the 500 foot buffer.

In a special meeting in September, the Planning Commission in a 6-3 vote recommended the city council ban adult recreational marijuana sales downtown as well as remove the buffers between establishments around I-69.

Then Sept. 14 the Coldwater City Council voted 7-2 vote it was ready to open both downtown and the I-69 business districts for unlimited retail recreational marijuana sales sparking then intense community debate and lobbying.

When the final ordinance vote came Monday night, downtown sales were banned.

Lisa Miller