Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City staff propose zoning rules for medical cannabis including distance and signage limits
Summary
Planning staff outlined zoning text amendments tied to KRS 218B that would allow dispensaries in B3/B4/B5 zones, cultivation/processing in I1/I2 zones, add a 1,000‑foot school/daycare buffer, a 1‑mile minimum between dispensaries, limits on signage and a prohibition in the downtown overlay; first reading introduced.
Melissa Evans, associate director of planning with the Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission, explained draft text amendments to appendix F (articles 8, 13 and 14) to implement state medical cannabis law (cited as KRS 218B in the presentation) and add local regulations.
Evans said dispensaries would be permitted in B3, B4 and B5 zoning classifications while cultivators, processors and combined producer facilities would be allowed in I1 and I2 zones. Safety compliance facilities — labs that test cannabis products — would be allowed in a wider set of zones (P1, B3, B4, B5, I1 and I2). The draft includes a 1,000‑foot separation from schools and daycares consistent with state rules and an additional local rule preventing dispensaries from locating within 1 mile of each other.
Other proposed local controls include limits on signage (one permitted sign, no animated or electronic changeable copy) applied to dispensaries and production facilities, and a prohibition on medical cannabis facilities within the downtown overlay district (Article 21). City attorney Mark Pfeiffer and planning staff worked on the draft language to add these local criteria above state minimums.
Evans said the amendments also include article‑specific parking standards and definitions in Article 14. The ordinances were introduced on first reading; staff invited questions and offered to return with final drafts after planning commission review and feedback.
