Broomfield staff to draft time‑place‑manner rules for natural‑medicine centers; council largely agrees to defer licensing to the state

City planning staff told the council on Monday that Proposition 122 and subsequent state legislation permit natural‑medicine healing centers, cultivation and testing but leave local governments authority to regulate the time, place and manner of those uses.

Brandon Rowe, planning manager, described the state framework: Prop 122 decriminalized certain hallucinogenic plants and fungi and subsequent laws (Senate Bill 23‑290; 2024 cleanup amendments) created a regulatory structure. Rowe said local governments may not ban natural‑medicine uses outright but can regulate location and operational characteristics, subject to state setback and other rules. Staff proposed limiting commercial cultivation/manufacturing/testing to industrial or agricultural zoning, allowing healing centers (medical‑office‑type uses) in commercial and industrial zones, and preserving the state’s 1,000‑foot separation from childcare centers, K‑12 schools and residential childcare facilities; staff proposed measuring setbacks property‑line to property‑line for administrative clarity.

Rowe described manner controls such as secure, enclosed cultivation areas, limits on odor/smoke/heat/glare and the possibility of co‑locating cultivation and healing centers as allowed by state law. The planning team recommended deferring licensing administration to the state rather than creating a local licensing program similar to local marijuana licensing, citing staff time and low expected demand: staff reported Broomfield has received one inquiry since the regulatory framework was completed.

Council members generally supported drafting local time‑place‑manner regulations and most favored deferring licensing to the state. Council questions included safe disposal of natural‑medicine waste and whether operational odors could be smelled from sidewalks; staff said state regulations address waste disposal (C.R.R. rule 31‑20 for psilocybin rules were cited during the meeting) and that local code could be written to mirror safe‑disposal expectations used for marijuana. Staff also agreed to follow up on whether state rules explicitly address impaired‑driving considerations for patrons leaving a healing center.

No local ordinance was adopted at the study session; staff said they would create a Broomfield Voice page to gather public input, draft an ordinance with time‑place‑manner provisions, and return later in the year. Council direction at the study session was to proceed with drafting the local time‑place‑manner code and to defer licensing to the state at this time.