Pitkin County health staff recommend 200-foot buffer for micro "healing centers" near child care; Board asks legal and land‑use follow-up

Pitkin County public health staff on Sept. 2 recommended that the Board of County Commissioners adopt a local rule setting a 200-foot distance between micro healing centers providing supervised psilocybin‑assisted therapy and licensed child care facilities, while maintaining the state’s 1,000‑foot requirement for full “healing centers” and schools.

The recommendation came after the county’s Board of Health earlier voted to propose removing any distance requirement between healing centers and licensed child care centers, while keeping the 1,000‑foot state standard for schools. Kimberly Levin, the county medical officer and emergency physician, told the commissioners she and public health staff had refined that recommendation to apply only to micro healing centers — smaller therapist‑integrated practices — and said 200 feet “would at least give a little bit of breathing room” between a therapy entrance and a child care door.

Why it matters: Colorado’s Natural Medicine rules, enacted after the 2023 legalization of psilocybin for supervised therapeutic use, require healing centers to be at least 1,000 feet from schools and licensed child care facilities. Local governments may regulate time, place and manner but cannot outright ban state‑licensed operators. Commissioners must weigh public‑health protections for children against local land‑use process, and any local change would require legal and zoning review.

Public‑health rationale and staff recommendation Kimberly Levin and Jordana Sizella, the Pitkin County public health director, reviewed evidence used to justify distance rules for control of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis and said those policies aim to reduce youth exposure and underage use. Levin told the board that most existing research concerns retail sale of alcohol and tobacco, not supervised clinical use of psilocybin, and that Oregon and some Colorado municipalities took different approaches.

Levin said the county should distinguish between state‑defined “healing centers” — higher‑volume, stand‑alone facilities that may hold larger quantities of psilocybin — and “micro healing centers,” which she described as therapist‑run clinics where psilocybin is used adjunctively with other therapies and where dosage and on‑site quantities are limited. Levin recommended any local change apply only to micro healing centers and suggested maintaining the 1,000‑foot rule for healing centers while allowing micro facilities to locate no closer than 200 feet from licensed child care.

Board concerns and requested follow‑up Commissioners pressed repeatedly on two practical questions: whether a local change would require an update to county land‑use code and how the county would respond if a micro healing center later violated state licensing or raised safety complaints.

Commissioner Greg said the absence of a community development and county attorney briefing made him “a little nervous” about reopening a recently enacted standard. Commissioner Patty asked whether preschool facilities are covered by the county’s proposed change; staff clarified that the state rule covers child care centers and preschools, and Levin said the staff recommendation would treat preschools and child care centers together.

Commissioner Jeffrey cited a state provision read during the meeting and said he was “ready to move forward as per statute,” referencing the authority for a county governing body to vary distance restrictions. Several commissioners urged staff to get a legal opinion and a land‑use analysis before advancing any local code change. Commissioners also asked staff to report how other jurisdictions implemented their rules (Boulder, Colorado Springs and Aspen were cited in the presentation) and whether enforcement paths exist if a license is suspended or revoked.

What the county did and next steps No formal action was taken by the Board of County Commissioners at the Sept. 2 work session. Commissioners directed public‑health staff to return with follow‑up that includes: - A legal analysis from the county attorney’s office and an assessment from community development on whether a change requires a land‑use code text amendment and, if so, the timeline and process for that change; - Clarification of whether state licensing enforcement (including limits on on‑site inventory for micro healing centers) provides a local enforcement mechanism; - Examples and processes from other Colorado jurisdictions that have modified the 1,000‑foot rule.

Levin told the board that, if the commissioners chose to proceed, staff would focus the change only on micro healing centers and would maintain protections for larger healing centers and schools. “I would hate to see a center with a door right next to a daycare,” Levin said, explaining why she recommended a 200‑foot buffer as a compromise between public health and access to therapy.

Commissioners also requested that any future materials be explicit about which ages and facility types (preschool vs. K‑12) are covered, since testimony and examples referenced both childcare/preschool and K‑12 schools.

Ending note Staff said they will return with the requested legal and land‑use analysis and with more detailed comparisons to other local regulations before commissioners consider any formal change to local rules.