COUNCIL TO TALK MARIJUANA SHOPS TONIGHT

LONGMONT -- Most people think the city should regulate medical
marijuana dispensaries, according a city survey.

And Longmont City Council members will discuss how to do so during
their meeting at 7 tonight.

Some ways city planners say the council could regulate pot shops are
through zoning, licensing requirements and possibly keeping
dispensaries from opening near schools, parks and homes.

City leaders also will discuss whether to allow marijuana growing
facilities and how to regulate them.

More than 600 of the 700 people who took the online survey -- about
86 percent -- said the city should regulate dispensaries, with 80
percent saying pot shops should be limited to certain zoning districts.

Most of those people, 65 percent, said the shops should only be
allowed in commercial districts, while 46 percent said they should
be allowed in industrial zones.

A majority of people who completed the survey also supported
requiring minimum distances between dispensaries and schools,
child-care facilities, parks and residential areas.

They also said the city should have special licensing requirements
that include background checks.

Longmont has nine dispensaries that opened before the City Council
adopted a moratorium in October.

In December, the council voted to extend the moratorium through the
end of June to give city planners time to research possible
regulations and wait for state legislators to propose or pass any
new laws about dispensaries.

Though the moratorium does not affect dispensaries already doing
business in the city, it does prohibit new ones from opening.

If the City Council decides tonight to move forward on drafting
regulations, the next step would be to take the proposed codes to
the Planning and Zoning Commission in May.

After the commission makes a recommendation, city staff will bring
back the code changes to the City Council in June.

Because those ordinances take time to go into effect, city planners
say it will probably be necessary to extend the moratorium on
dispensaries until any new regulations take effect.

The city began collecting sales tax from medical marijuana
dispensaries in September. The city collected about $18,000 in 2009,
and another $12,000 this year through February.

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If you go

What: Longmont City Council

When: 7 tonight

Where: Longmont Civic Center, 350 Kimbark St.

Information: Call 303-651-8649