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Westerville considers tightly limited dispensary ordinance; residents warn it amounts to a de facto ban
Summary
City staff presented an ordinance to allow medical and dual‑use retail dispensaries in limited commercial zones with a required special‑use permit, 500‑foot buffers from schools/daycares/parks/trails, a two‑dispensary cap and one‑mile spacing; residents and council debated hours and neighborhood impacts.
City planning staff outlined an ordinance rewrite intended to replace the current blanket prohibition on medical marijuana activity and permit retail dispensaries under strict conditions.
Staff said the draft would allow medical and dual‑use dispensaries but continue to prohibit cultivation and processing, limit locations to community, commercial and planned commercial zones, require a special‑use permit evaluated under 15 standards and impose a 500‑foot buffer from libraries, schools, day cares, churches, parks and trails. "The proposal allows for medical and dual use dispensaries, but will continue to prohibit cultivation and processing," staff said. The draft also caps dispensaries at two citywide and requires at least one mile of separation between them. Planning commission unanimously recommended approval Dec. 18 and staff recommended approval at the third reading.
At a public hearing that accompanied the ordinance’s second reading, resident John Gaddis argued the combined rules would functionally block dispensaries. "Instead, you have created a de facto ban where the needle someone would have to thread has become narrowed to such a degree that opening a dispensary could be virtually impossible," Gaddis said, adding that Westerville could forgo tax revenue if no dispensaries open.
Other residents urged additional protections for neighborhoods. Tyler Frederick asked council to extend the buffer from 500 to 1,000 feet and to add minimum distances from residential properties, saying a nearby shopping center backs up to homes and there are three day cares on the corner. Nikki Murray, who lives in Windsor Bay, said the area is family oriented and that neighbors did not all know the proposal was advancing.
Council and staff addressed those concerns, saying the shopping center discussion area is currently within the proposed prohibited zone because of nearby parks, trails and day cares. The law director and planning staff reiterated that the SUP and zoning rules would keep dispensaries out of residential districts and that deed restrictions may also limit retail use.
Council members also debated hours of operation. Staff said the draft currently proposes 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. while the law director noted medical dispensaries have typically operated on a 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. baseline and the state’s new dual‑use framework has allowed jurisdictions in some cases to authorize hours up to 11 p.m. Council members asked staff to compile actual operating hours used by nearby dispensaries before the third reading; council can accept amendments when the ordinance is read a final time.
The ordinance will return for a third reading and final council action at the meeting scheduled for Feb. 4, when amendments on hours or buffers may be proposed.
