Timnath planning commission approves zoning rules for licensed natural medicine centers

The Town of Timnath Planning Commission voted 5-0 on April 15 to approve a proposed land use code amendment establishing where and how licensed natural medicine businesses — defined by state law as supervised healing centers and cultivation centers — may operate in town.

Community Development staff presented the proposal as implementing the state changes that followed Colorado’s Proposition 122 (2022) and subsequent implementing legislation in 2023–24, which decriminalized certain plant-based psychedelic substances for adults 21 and older and created a regulated framework for supervised administration. "These centers are designed to offer a safe and safe environment for the therapeutic use of plant based psychedelics under the guidance of trained professionals," said Logan, Community Development staff, during the public hearing.

The draft limits healing centers to the town’s regional commercial zone and cultivation centers to the industrial zone. Staff recommended 1,000-foot setbacks from schools and licensed child-care facilities and a 1,000-foot setback from residential lots; those parameters were presented as the more restrictive option the commission requested. Staff also proposed operating-hour limits of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and referenced standard security, inventory tracking and safety measures required by state regulations.

Commissioners asked about potential environmental or public-health impacts from cultivation and processing. Logan and other staff noted existing code sections governing hazardous and non-hazardous materials and said typical industry controls address ventilation and waste: ventilation systems with HEPA filtration are commonly required to limit spore and particulate release, and cultivation operations typically capture wash-down materials for proper disposal. Staff pointed the commission to draft processing language and existing fire- and hazardous-material review procedures as part of project permitting.

Commissioners also discussed how the proposed setbacks would apply to unincorporated county residential parcels adjacent to town boundaries. Staff advised the current draft treats residential lots outside town the same as residential lots inside town for setback calculations, and agreed to recalculate maps to show how much land would remain available under that interpretation before the item is taken to Town Council.

After discussion of those clarifications, the commission moved and seconded approval of the amendment as presented. The motion carried 5-0. Commissioners voting yes were Philip Goldstein, Marty Jost, Tom Wood, Wendy Newland and Renzo Bianchi. No public commenters spoke against the proposal during the hearing.

The amendment will next be presented to the Town Council for a final decision; staff said they will include updated maps showing the availability of permitted sites and any recommended changes to the residential-setback language when they forward the amendment.