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Otsego council approves joint powers agreement with Wright County for cannabis enforcement
Summary
The council approved a joint powers agreement (JPA) with Wright County to handle registration, renewal and compliance checks for cannabis businesses while the city retains zoning authority; council voted 4–1 to approve after discussion about local control and enforcement capacities.
The Otsego City Council considered a proposed joint powers agreement with Wright County to provide registration, renewal and compliance inspections for cannabis businesses within the county’s program framework. Staff said the JPA would assign Wright County responsibility for registration, renewal and compliance checks while the city would retain zoning authority and control of local ordinances that restrict counts or locations of cannabis businesses.
Councilmember Ryan said he opposed delegating authority, expressing concern about the city “pooling” its licensing authority with the county and about the county’s ability to effectively limit licenses to Otsego. City staff and the city attorney explained the JPA’s structure, noting the state statute requires a certain number of licenses per population band and that local ordinance restrictions and zoning remain a separate city action.
Staff also described the technical nature of product and THC-level compliance checks and said Wright County currently performs similar compliance work for alcohol and tobacco licensing and has staffing to manage inspections. Councilmember Jeff moved to approve the JPA; Councilmember Britney seconded. The council approved the agreement 4–1.
Staff emphasized the city would retain zoning authority and would separately adopt local ordinance language if it wishes to limit registration counts; the JPA focuses on administrative and compliance functions, not setting local zoning policy.
