Council postpones decision on ordinance to bar new cannabis production and processing in M‑1 zone

The Estacada City Council opened a public hearing on Ordinance 2025‑004, a proposed amendment to Title 16 of the Estacada Municipal Code that would prohibit new cannabis production and processing businesses in the M‑1 (industrial) zone and impose revised operational and licensing requirements on existing businesses.

The change was introduced by Grace, a planner with Winterbrook Planning, who told the council the proposal responded to repeated complaints about nuisance odor and was recommended by the Planning Commission in June. Grace said the amendment would "prohibit new cannabis production and processing businesses within city limits. Existing businesses would still be able to operate and would become nonconforming under the code," and that the ordinance also "would revise the operational and licensing requirements for existing cannabis production and require things like odor control plans." Grace noted a narrow change made after the Planning Commission to clarify inspection authority to comply with Fourth Amendment protections.

In public testimony,…