New marijuana regulations are on the books for the town of Mancos. The moratorium on new marijuana business licenses that the town has had in place since February will officially be lifted Nov. 19.
After months of revisions by town staff, the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Trustees, two ordinances concerning marijuana business licensing and land use code amendments were unanimously passed by the Mancos Town Board of Trustees Wednesday night.
The regulations essentially make town statutes more in line with state statutes, raises licensing fees to what the state charges, and clears up inconsistencies between medical and retail marijuana regulations.
At its last regular meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended that the Board consider allowing standalone retail and medical dispensaries, as well as marijuana cultivation and infusion facilities in locations that are zoned Light Industrial. If standalone cultivation or infused products facilities desire to be in the Highway Business District and the Commercial District, the must be co-located with a retail marijuana store or a medical marijuana center. Additionally, no marijuana-related business may be larger than 5,000 square feet. Any facility that exceeds 2,500 square feet requires a special use permit.
Mancos resident Marlis Simms Delaronde voiced concerns before the vote about there being no cap on the number of marijuana businesses allowed in Mancos.
“Before you take this moratorium off, I think something needs to be in place about that. This small of a community cannot handle a large amount of these processing centers, and growers,” she said, noting that she has noticed many open parcels of land for sale that could be snapped up by marijuana businesses looking to build.
In the ordinance redrafting process, some trustees were in favor of placing a cap the number of licenses on initially but it was eventually decided that the limited amount of available space in Mancos, setback requirements built into the regulations, and the general laws of capitalism would automatically safeguard against an excess.
“If you look at our boundaries and the rules we put in here, how many feet it has to be from schools, apartments, daycares...Some of acreage you see for sale is zoned agricultural, not light industrial…there’s a lot of places they can’t go even though those areas are for sale,” said trustee Queenie Barz. “We’re hoping the caps we put on and areas we allow it is going to discourage some and let others come.”
Mini-grants given to nonprofits
Trustees also voted Wednesday night to allocated $4,000 of its 2016 budget to local non-profits. The Mancos Senior Center is getting $1,500; Axis Health Systems is getting $1,000; and the Montezuma School-to-Farm Project, Medicine Horse Healing Center, and Chicken Creek Outdoor Recreation Center are getting $500 each.
Sondra Curry, site coordinator for the Mancos Senior Center, told trustees the funding would help the center’s meal delivery program and social programs at the center.
“Basically, we’re in the business of feeding people. A lot of seniors live in poverty and isolation, and meals on wheels are the only people they see during the week. It’s literally saved lives at times,” she said.
Budget introduced
The town’s 2016 budget was introduced, and will go back to trustees for official adoption in coming weeks. The total proposed operating budget is $1.8 million and the capital improvement budget is $669,138, which includes the budgeted funds for the raw water project.
Aside from the funding of services and general town operations, other items funded by the 2016 budget include a third deputy marshal, a used vehicle for the marshal’s office and a used vehicle for the parks department, and $5,000 to the Mancos Public Library.
Funds are also set aside for road repairs and the maintenance of sewer lines, as well as local grant matches for the Highway 160 crosswalk at Beech Street, and the planning phase for the regional Path to Mesa Verde trail project.
