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Findlay Council reviews proposed cannabis zoning ordinance and dispensary rules; first reading scheduled
Summary
Council received a presentation on proposed cannabis zoning chapters that would allow up to two retail cannabis stores and permit growing/processing as a conditional use in industrial districts; state rules and possible state legislation on excise taxes were discussed.
City staff and the Hancock Regional Planning Commission director briefed Findlay City Council on proposed amendments to the city zoning code to regulate retail cannabis and associated businesses. The city circulated materials and the planning commission and staff answered council questions about hours, security, and the local permitting process.
Presenters said the Ohio regulatory framework already sets state-level rules for hours and security inside retail cannabis facilities (for example, ID checks, waiting-room procedures, and restrictions on visible storefronts). Locally, the city would treat retail dispensaries as a conditional use so the Planning Commission can add conditions, such as hours of operation or security requirements, at the time of site review. The ordinance language presented would allow up to two retail cannabis facilities in the city and would allow cultivation, processing and manufacturing in the I-1 industrial district as a conditional use with no explicit acreage cap.
Council members also discussed a pending state-level bill reported to be under consideration that, if enacted, could change how excise tax revenue is distributed and could move some revenues out of municipal control. A council member said he would monitor that proposed legislation and advise council if it progressed. Staff emphasized that local conditional-use review provides additional controls compared with a permitted use.
Council received the item as a first reading: Ordinance 20-25-16 (to amend codified ordinances and adopt a new cannabis zoning chapter, and to repeal the 12‑month moratorium) was read for the first time at the Feb. 4 meeting. No final vote on the ordinance occurred; the item remains at first-reading stage.
Speakers included planning staff (identified in the record as Matt), members of city administration, and several council members who asked about enforcement, the difference between Delta‑9 retail licensing and other hemp-derived products now sold under a federal farm‑bill loophole, and the conditional‑use permitting process.
