Erlanger Board of Adjustments approves change to allow medical cannabis cultivation on Dixie Highway site

Erlanger Board of Adjustments members voted unanimously May 19 to approve a change from one nonconforming use to another that would allow medical cannabis cultivation at a site north of Dixie Highway in Erlanger City.

The Board approved file BOA-25-00133208 after hearing a staff recommendation and testimony from the applicant. The change would convert an existing light-fabrication use to medical cannabis cultivation for a building on a site of a little more than one acre adjacent to the railroad and served by a private access called Burley Drive.

Staff Senior Planner Patrick Denbow told the Board the zoning is Community Commercial (CC) and the site’s current identified land use is industrial. He said the existing building footprint is approximately 20,650 square feet, with about 40 off-street parking spaces. The applicant proposes fully indoor cultivation, roughly 20 employees, and operating hours of about 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Denbow said the applicant proposed acoustic HVAC and dehumidification systems and a modular odor-mitigation system intended to prevent detectable odors from leaving the facility. “The proposed use will emit less noise and air pollution,” Denbow said, and staff provided a favorable recommendation, finding the new nonconforming use is in the same or a more restrictive classification of uses under the Erlanger Zoning Ordinance and Kentucky law.

Applicant Daniel Woodward, CEO of NatureMed, said his company operates in regulated markets and plans cultivation in Kentucky as part of a broader plan that includes dispensaries. “Our business won't involve any signage or really any drawing of attention to our use. We just sort of quietly enjoy the property and go about our business,” Woodward said. He stated that the operations would comply with state licensing requirements, including secure transport and building security.

Denbow and Woodward both told the Board that state law and the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) require cultivators to operate in enclosed, locked facilities and prohibit cultivation within 1,000 feet of existing elementary or secondary schools or daycare centers. Denbow also noted that state licensing requires operations be accessible only to licensed agents and impose additional security and operational conditions.

Board members’ discussion centered on why the applicant sought a change from one nonconforming use to another rather than pursuing a zoning map amendment. Denbow and Woodward said the applicant intends to pursue a future map amendment but sought the nonconforming-use change to obtain approval sooner. No opponents or neutral speakers appeared; members of the public who had signed in either passed or did not speak.

Terry Farrow moved to approve the change from one nonconforming use to another “based on the facts and considerations contained in the staff report, and based on the testimony of staff and witnesses present at the public hearing, and find that the new nonconforming use is in the same or more restrictive classification of uses.” Noah Osterhag seconded. The Board took a roll-call vote (Farrow, McVay, Osterhag, Rolfe, and Chair Bob Wingham) and voted yes unanimously; the motion passed.

The approval allows the use change under the Board’s authority but does not itself issue state cultivation licenses. The applicant remains required to obtain all applicable Kentucky licenses and to meet KRS security, proximity, and operational requirements before commencing cultivation. The applicant indicated plans to submit a zoning map amendment in the future to make the use conforming in the long term.

No rehearing requests or preliminary hearings were reported at the close of the meeting. The Board indicated a June agenda item may be expected but did not specify topics.