Staff proposes to slot state-authorized psilocybin 'healing centers' into clinic and light-industrial zones

City staff presented draft amendments to the local land-use code that would accommodate Colorado-authorized "healing centers" for natural medicine such as psilocybin, saying the changes are intended to align local zoning with the Natural Medicine Health Act passed by the Colorado General Assembly in 2023.

Speaker 3 (staff presenter) told the workshop the Division of Natural Medicine has completed its rulemaking and "will begin accepting applications for licenses on December 31st," and that state law preempts municipalities from prohibiting personal use while allowing limited local regulation. "We're going to...start seeing this use pop up," Speaker 3 said, framing the proposal as a way to slot the centers into existing use categories rather than ban them.

The draft would add healing centers to the definition of "medical and dental clinic" for zoning purposes and classify cultivation facilities, product manufacturers and testing labs as light industrial. "Healing centers are classified as a medical and dental clinic," Speaker 3 said, and the other facility types "are classified as industrial light," which would allow those uses in MU2 and higher, CG, IO, I1 and I2 zones under the staff proposal.

Use-specific standards in the draft mirror state rules: facilities must be licensed by the state licensing authority and would be required to maintain a 1,000-foot separation from child day-care centers and public or private schools. "This is a standard that exists in the state legislation as well," Speaker 3 said, and staff proposed duplicating that requirement locally.

Council members and participants raised several operational and public-safety questions. Speaker 1 warned many business models currently being proposed include overnight lodging or retreat formats and asked whether the city should require a lodging license or otherwise address overnight stays. "If you're gonna allow overnight stays there in lodging, like a retreat," Speaker 1 said, "that's gonna be part of the business model for some people."

Speakers discussed facilitator staffing and group size. The workshop noted state rules are expected to set facilitator-to-participant ratios; Speaker 1 summarized evolving guidance saying rules started at "1 facilitator for 2" and later moved toward "per 4 people," while also noting comments that four facilitators might be required in some configurations. Safety issues were flagged: Speaker 1 and others described incidents seen in other states where participants left facilities in distress, prompting 911 calls. "They've had some people who just...get up and run out into the streets," Speaker 1 said, urging emergency services to prepare for calls related to sessions.

Staff emphasized that many operational details—product sourcing, testing, safety protocols and enforcement—will be governed by state agencies such as the Division of Natural Medicine and DORA, limiting the city's ability to impose requirements beyond those allowed by state law. Speaker 5 explained staff modeled their approach on Boulder’s less restrictive code to avoid litigation risk and to place uses where their impacts best match existing zoning categories.

The workshop also discussed home-based facilitation: Speaker 1 noted Colorado law permits licensed facilitators to conduct sessions in private homes or other non-facility locations, and staff said such out-of-facility sessions likely fall outside municipal zoning control though public-safety agencies should be aware. "If you want me to come over to your house and do it, I can do it there," Speaker 1 said, describing the facilitator licensing concept.

Staff said they plan to finalize recommended code language for a public hearing next week and will monitor state rules and early local implementations to determine whether amendments are needed. There was no motion or vote at the workshop; staff invited additional questions and closed for lunch.

Next steps: staff will bring the proposed ordinance to the scheduled hearing, monitor state program rollout and return with any needed refinements after initial implementations are observed.