The Rising Sun mayor and board of commissioners on a December 2024 agenda introduced three zoning-related ordinance proposals and voted to refer them to the town planning commission for review and public hearing.

Town Administrator presented the first proposal, identified as Ordinance O-2024-09, which would create a new “cannabis business” section in the zoning code. Under the draft, cannabis businesses would be permitted in the town’s light-industrial zone only; on-site consumption establishments would be prohibited; a 500-foot buffer from parks, playgrounds, recreation centers, libraries, schools and daycares would apply; and a 100-foot buffer from residential-zoned properties would be measured from property line to property line. The ordinance would also require that a cannabis dispensary be the primary use of the premises and not be mixed with other accessory retail uses except age-regulated tobacco products. The draft follows state limits, including a half-mile minimum separation between dispensaries.

According to the Town Administrator, the draft aims to balance the state’s legalization framework with local limits to protect children and residential areas; as the administrator said during the presentation, “we are not allowing that” in reference to site-consumption establishments.

A separate proposal would amend Article 9 (Screening, Shading and Environmental Standards) to change how the town treats non-tidal wetland setbacks. The amendment removes the town’s fixed 25-foot setback and requires applicants to provide evidence of federal and/or state approvals, deferring to the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers delineations and permits. The Town Administrator said the change is intended to avoid conflicts between a fixed local number and the technical standards MDE and the Corps apply, while clarifying that perennial stream buffers and other existing controls are not being relaxed.

The third proposal would revise clear-sight triangle and intersection corner-radius language. The draft replaces an older 50-foot sight-distance requirement with a 25-foot standard more consistent with modern engineering guidance and allows corner radii to be reduced from 25 feet down to as little as 15 feet in site-specific situations, provided the fire department signs off. The presentation framed the change as a pedestrian-safety improvement that also helps align handicap ramps with crossing points and slow vehicle turning speeds.

Votes at a glance
- Consent to introduce the ordinances and forward them to the planning commission: board accepted the ordinance introductions by motion and voice vote; the items will be advertised and scheduled for public hearings before the mayor and commissioners after planning commission review.

What happens next
The planning commission will review the drafts and may recommend adjustments before the mayor and board hold public hearings and consider formal adoption. The timing of those hearings was not set at the meeting.

Proper names and authorities referenced in the meeting include the Maryland Department of the Environment and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (federal permits), and the town referenced Cecil County’s code provision on parity across councilmatic districts for dispensary distribution. Specific ordinance identifiers were given during the meeting for referral (Ordinance O-2024-09 on cannabis zoning; Article 9 and the clear-sight/article amendments were described during the presentation).