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Hot Springs council removes stray sentence, approves first reading to limit dispensary hours
Summary
The Hot Springs City Council voted to approve first reading of ordinance 12-63, revising zoning rules for cannabis dispensaries and striking a sentence that erroneously left manufacturing and cultivation hours unrestricted; council and city attorneys said removal was an oversight and not a substantive change.
The Hot Springs City Council voted to approve the first reading of ordinance 12-63 on its change to dispensary operating hours, striking a sentence that had said hours for manufacturing and cultivation were not restricted.
City Administrator Jacqueline Kelsey told the council the sentence had been left in the draft in error and that manufacturing and cultivation provisions currently are not authorized elsewhere in local code. "When we made the change, this item E identified the operating hours, which are from 8 to 8 p.m., Monday through Sunday," Kelsey said, then explained the stray sentence created confusion and should be removed.
Council asked legal staff whether striking the sentence would require a new public hearing; counsel advised it would not. "Short answer, no. This is not a substantial alteration, because the sentence was an oversight," an attorney identified as Austin told the council. He said the change clears up confusion without creating a new zoning entitlement.
The council opened a public hearing on the proposed amendment to Title 15, Land Usage, Chapter 155, Zoning Ordinance, 155.058, Cannabis Dispensaries, and solicited public comment before returning to final action. No named members of the public offered a substantive objection during the hearing.
On the motion to approve first reading of ordinance 12-63 with the amendment to strike the sentence in item E, the council recorded a roll call in which each member present voted yea. The council then approved a separate first reading of ordinance 12-64, which revises Title 11, Business Regulations, chapter 116, Cannabis Establishments (sections 116.04–116.08 and 116.14).
Council and staff said the practical effect of the change is to set dispensary hours at 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Sunday, and to remove language that could be misread as authorizing unrestricted manufacturing and cultivation hours when no such local allowance currently exists. Kelsey and legal staff said the correction will be reflected in the ordinance language moving forward to subsequent readings.
The council’s vote on the first reading of ordinance 12-63 was unanimous among members present.
The council indicated the amended ordinance language will proceed to further readings as required under local ordinance and that planning and zoning will hold related hearings for any separate zoning changes that are substantive.
