Planning commission unanimously recommends land‑development code amendment for 'natural medicine' businesses, forwards to county commissioners

The El Paso County Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the Board of County Commissioners consider a proposed amendment to the county land development code, file LDC 2‑43, establishing time, place and manner regulations for “natural medicine” businesses.

Planning Director Megan Harrington presented the item and described the background: the state approved Proposition 122 in 2022 to decriminalize personal use and cultivation of certain psychedelics and directed the state to create a licensing and regulatory framework. Harrington told the commission that state legislation implementing the regulatory program (recorded on the transcript as “state bill 23‑290”) sets out that local jurisdictions may regulate time, place and manner, but may not prohibit establishment or transportation of natural medicine businesses. Harrington said the staff proposal borrows many design and operational standards from the county’s medical marijuana rules while tailoring buffers and measurement methodology to the new state regulatory act.

Key provisions recommended by staff and discussed by the commission include: - Definitions taken from the state regulatory act for terms such as natural medicine business, healing center, cultivation facility, product manufacturer and testing facility. - Permitted zones: staff recommended making natural medicine businesses a permitted use in CS, C1, C2 and M zone districts (the same approach used previously for medical marijuana); staff noted the county is in the process of modernizing obsolete zone names in a forthcoming land‑development code rewrite. - Buffers and measurement: staff recommended a one‑mile buffer from elementary, middle and high schools and a 1,000‑foot buffer from residentially used properties (or properties zoned for residential use), principal college campuses, public parks, religious institutions, state‑licensed drug and alcohol treatment facilities and military installations. Distances would be measured by direct pedestrian access from the nearest property line of the protected use to the portion of the building containing the natural medicine business, consistent with the county’s approach to measuring buffers for medical marijuana. - Hours and design standards: recommended hours of operation for licensed facilities are limited to daytime hours (staff noted the draft language in the packet, used for discussion, limits hours to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays); additional standards address visibility, lighting, odor, storage and secure disposal. - Personal cultivation: staff said local jurisdictions cannot prohibit personal cultivation allowed by state law; staff proposed restricting personal cultivation to accessory uses within a primary residence (an enclosed, lockable space not to exceed 12 feet by 12 feet), restricted to occupants age 21 or older, not to be treated as a home occupation, and with no detectable odors.

Assistant county attorney Terry Sample was present to address legal questions. On the record Sample said there is no provision in the regulatory act prohibiting co‑location of different license types on the same lot, but the act limits financial interest by stating that “one person or facilitator may not have a financial interest in more than three natural medicine businesses.” Sample also noted the criminal statute that addresses personal use (cited on the record as Colorado criminal statute 18‑18‑434).

Commission discussion focused on measurement of buffers (how to compute direct pedestrian access and the county’s GIS layers for principal college campuses), whether all four license types could be co‑located, permitted zone choices (the staff recommendation follows the medical marijuana model), security and the definition of secure disposal, and how personal cultivation would be defined and enforced. Harrington said staff mapped potential locations under existing zoning and identified four broad areas in unincorporated El Paso County that could meet the draft buffer requirements as currently proposed.

Motion and vote: A motion to recommend approval of LDC 2‑43 in accordance with the attached resolution and to forward the item to the Board of County Commissioners carried unanimously on roll call. Commissioners present recorded aye votes and the planning commission’s recommendation will be placed on the county commissioners’ agenda for their consideration.

Why it matters: The amendment would set local time, place and manner rules for state‑licensed natural medicine businesses (healing centers, cultivation centers, product manufacturers and testing facilities) while acknowledging that Colorado state law and the regulatory act determine licensure and limit what a county may prohibit. The county’s rules would determine where facilities could locate in unincorporated El Paso County and how distances are measured to protect schools, residences and other sensitive uses.

Ending: The Planning Commission’s recommendation will be transmitted to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration at a future meeting; staff noted the county’s land development code rewrite could result in later changes to these provisions.