Florence staff outline plan for medical cannabis dispensary at 6809 Burlington Pike; residents raise traffic concerns

Florence planning staff on Thursday reviewed a request to rezone a 0.35‑acre property at 6809 Burlington Pike from Commercial‑2 to Commercial‑3 and to grant a conditional‑use permit to allow a medical cannabis dispensary.

Mr. Morgan, a member of the city’s planning staff, told the City Council caucus the proposal — submitted by Bluegrass Canicare LLC on property owned by NKH Investment LLC — meets the spacing and operational standards the city adopted in November governing medical cannabis businesses. "They barely meet the thousand foot spacing, but they do," he said, referring to the distance from Boone County High School and nearby TLC Learning Center.

The Boone County Planning Commission held a public hearing on the application and recommended approval with conditions. Those recommendations include allowing the dispensary in the C‑3 zone only if the city approves the zoning map amendment and requiring landscaping along the building's front façade.

Pat, a member of the city’s planning and zoning committee, said applicants and staff reviewed Kentucky’s operational rules for cannabis businesses and described the state requirements as "pretty darn stringent." He summarized security and customer‑control measures, including a requirement that only people with medical marijuana ID cards may be admitted to the locked facility and that there may not be more customers inside than employees. He added that, because of the small building, the operator does not expect more than four to six employees on site at a time.

During public comment, a resident and representatives of a nearby church raised questions about how dispensary hours and operations would affect Sunday traffic near 7 Hills Church. Applicant representatives identified themselves in the meeting as Jason Coulter and Ed Maynard and described planned operating hours as roughly "8 a.m. to 5 p.m.," with the business likely closed Sundays or open only limited hours. Coulter said the drive‑through, if opened later, would be for online orders only and designed for quick transactions so customers would not remain in the parking lot.

The presentation noted the site is a former bank and that local zoning rules also restrict dispensary location relative to parks, playgrounds, religious facilities and other sensitive uses. No council vote on the rezoning or conditional‑use permit occurred during the caucus; the council recessed to a public hearing later in the evening where the item is scheduled for further consideration.

Next steps: the matter will move forward to the scheduled public hearing and subsequent council consideration; the planning commission recommendation and the planning and zoning committee's conditions were part of the record.