Zoning Ordinance Amendment for Cannabis Related Uses

APPROVED AT CITY COUNCIL ON NOVEMBER 19, 2024.

An ordinance amendment to Chapter 36 (ZONING) of the Edina City Code to allow for cannabis related uses authorized by Minnesota law Chapter 342. The amendment will establish which zoning districts certain cannabis uses will be allowed and any standards associated with those uses. Cannabis uses to be addressed in the amendment may include but are not limited to businesses involved in the retailing, wholesaling, processing, cultivation, manufacturing, testing, and transporting of cannabis in compliance with Minnesota law.

Background

The State legalized adult-use cannabis in Minnesota at the end of the 2023 legislative session. The law (State Statute Chapter 342) permits personal use, possession and transportation of cannabis by those 21 years of age and older and permits licensed businesses to conduct certain activities. The law also establishes a State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), which has the authority to license cannabis businesses. A municipality may not ban the types of cannabis businesses or activities authorized by State law and licensed by OCM. The City must decide which zoning districts these uses are allowed to operate in. Generally, these licensed activities include:

• Cultivation
• Delivery service
• Manufacturing and processing
• On-site consumption of edible cannabis products and lower-potency hemp edibles, such as gummies and drinks (does not include products consumed through smoking or vaporized delivery method)
• Retail
• Testing
• Transportation
• Wholesaling

As drafted, the ordinance proposes that cannabis retailers be a permitted use in the following zoning districts: Planned Commercial District 1, 2 and 3, Mixed Development District 6, and any Planned Unit Development that allows the uses in the Planned Commercial Districts. Cannabis retail would be a conditionally permitted use in the Mixed Development District 3, 4 and 5. This is similar to where liquor and tobacco stores are permitted.

Businesses engaged in cultivation, delivery service, manufacturing, processing, testing, transportation and wholesaling would be permitted in the Planned Industrial District. Businesses licensed by OCM for on-site consumption of edible cannabis products and lower-potency hemp edibles would be allowed as an accessory use in the Planned Industrial District, similar to a brewery taproom.

State law also allows a city to impose a buffer requirement to a cannabis business from other uses, such as schools, daycares, residential treatment facilities and attractions within a public park that are regularly used by minors, including a playground or athletic field. As drafted, the ordinance proposes a 500 foot buffer from each of these uses for consideration. Similar buffers are not applied to liquor and tobacco stores.

Cannabis businesses will be required to comply with all other requirements of the zoning ordinance including for signage, parking, building setbacks and height, floor area ratio, building design, and standards for noise, vibration, smoke, odor, glare and lighting.

For more information on the City's cannabis regulations, visit the Public Health Division's webpage.