Pocomoke City council adopts emergency 60-day extension of cannabis moratorium

Pocomoke City mayor and council on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, approved an emergency resolution extending the city's moratorium on accepting and processing applications, site plans, zoning approvals and business licenses for businesses engaged in growing, processing or selling cannabis, including on-site consumption establishments. The resolution sets the moratorium to run for 60 days after adoption and allows the council to renew or modify that period.

The resolution was introduced as an emergency measure by the council during the Sept. 9 meeting. An unidentified council member (Speaker 1) moved to approve the emergency resolution; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote after the chair called for "aye." A recorded voice of "Aye" appears in the transcript (Speaker 3). Immediately afterward, meeting participants noted some difficulty hearing the roll call: Speaker 3 said, "Only 1 person voted y'all," and members clarified responses before proceeding.

In the text read at the meeting, council staff referenced prior local actions and timing: the resolution incorporates background language from earlier local resolutions (referred to in the reading as resolution 5-84, adopted Oct. 2023, and resolution 5-92, adopted March 18, 2024) and notes that an ordinance to regulate cannabis businesses (identified in the reading as ordinance 2025-0-2) was introduced Aug. 19, 2024. According to the reading, a public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, and the moratorium was stated in the reading to expire on Sept. 14; the emergency extension would keep the moratorium in place while the ordinance process proceeds.

When the council opened the public hearing on the ordinance at the Sept. 9 meeting, Speaker 3 stated there were no public comments. After approving the emergency resolution, the council voted to move into an executive (closed) session; the motion to go into closed session was made by Speaker 2, seconded by Speaker 1, and approved by voice vote (transcript indicates the motion was properly made and seconded and the chair called for "aye"). The meeting record shows the chair named "Melinda and John" as participants in the immediate closed session.

What the resolution does not specify in the publicly read text is any administrative implementation detail beyond the 60-day period and the council's authority to extend or modify it; the transcript does not include a roll-call vote sheet or a full tally by name. The record as read ties the moratorium to the stated purpose of protecting public health, safety and welfare while the city determines whether additional regulations related to cannabis activities are lawful and appropriate.

The council did not receive public comment on the ordinance at this meeting. The council moved into an executive session immediately after the vote; the transcript does not record the subject matter discussed in closed session. The ordinance public hearing remains scheduled for Sept. 16, 2024, per the reading during the Sept. 9 meeting.