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Butte-Silver Bow to draft ordinance capping marijuana retail outlets at 10
Summary
County attorney said a draft ordinance will be presented to the judiciary committee that would limit medical and recreational marijuana retail licenses to 10, add a 500-foot radius buffer from schools/churches/parks, include a grandfather clause and rely on a state moratorium and administrative rules for licensing timing.
County Attorney Ann Ruth said the Butte-Silver Bow County Attorney’s Office will present a draft ordinance at the next Judiciary Committee meeting to regulate the sale and distribution of medical and recreational marijuana and cap retail licenses at 10. The county attorney said the draft will incorporate corresponding zoning language and include a grandfather clause for existing shops.
The proposed ordinance, as described by Ann Ruth, would limit the total number of marijuana retail outlets in the county to 10 and tie local licensing to zoning language worked out with Director Crane. Ruth said the draft will specify that when an existing shop closes, relocates or is sold, a license would have to be available for that new location or owner; if the cap has been reached, a relocating or sold shop could lose its local business license.
Ruth said local language will not rely on the state’s prior “same-street” administrative interpretation and instead adopt a 500-foot radius exclusion from schools and churches, and will consider specific parks heavily used by children (she cited Father Sheen and Stodden as examples) when drafting buffers. Ruth also told commissioners the state has a two-year moratorium on issuing new licenses, which she said gives the county time to finalize its ordinance.
Commissioner Callahan asked whether the recently opened shop on Utah Street is too close to Butte High School. Ruth replied that under current state administrative rules a same-street 500-foot restriction exists but that the dispensary’s address is not on the same street as Butte High and thus was technically compliant; she added that the county draft will use a 500-foot radius to address proximity questions more directly.
The committee did not adopt the ordinance at the meeting. Commissioner Callahan moved to hold the item in abeyance until the next judiciary meeting; the motion was seconded, carried by voice vote and the matter was scheduled for a draft presentation in two weeks. Ruth and Sean Peterson said they are collaborating on the final draft.
Discussion versus action: the meeting record shows discussion and direction to prepare a draft ordinance (staff to draft zoning/language and return to the committee). The only formal action recorded was the motion to hold the communication in abeyance until the next committee meeting; no ordinance was enacted at this session.
Background: the committee’s description of the proposed ordinance indicates the county intends to pair licensing limits with zoning language similar to local rules that govern alcohol establishments. Ruth said the draft will include grandfathering language for existing businesses. No ordinance text was posted in the meeting record and no formal vote on the ordinance itself occurred.
