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Planning commission backs local zoning for natural medicine healing centers, recommends council approval
Summary
The Wheat Ridge Planning Commission recommended 6–0 that City Council adopt zoning rules allowing state‑licensed ‘natural medicine’ healing centers in specified commercial, industrial and mixed‑use districts while embedding a 1,000‑foot separation from schools and day‑care facilities; the recommendation is advisory to Council, which will act in January.
City of Wheat Ridge planning commissioners on Dec. 18 recommended approval of an ordinance that would add rules for “natural medicine” healing centers — facilities where certain psychedelic‑assisted therapies are administered — and direct where those uses may locate in the city.
The staff presentation, delivered by City Attorney Jerry Dawn, said the state has created a licensing program for natural‑medicine businesses and that a state license will not be effective unless any required local license is also issued. The ordinance under review focuses on time, place and manner of operations: staff recommended listing healing centers as permitted uses in commercial and industrial zones (including NCRC, C1, C2 and IE) and in mixed‑use districts, and embedding the state‑required 1,000‑foot separation from schools and day‑care facilities directly in the code.
“While the statute prevents local governments from prohibiting these businesses outright, it does allow regulation of time, place and manner,” Dawn said, noting the local ordinance is intended to clarify allowable locations and to avoid a state license creating an unexpected local use. He described the proposal as a “middle ground” among jurisdictions: some cities defer to the state, others add local licensing; Wheat Ridge’s draft mostly sets where centers can be located rather than creating a local licensing program.
Commissioners asked whether the ordinance would regulate hours, limit the number of licenses, and whether therapy would be administered on site or at home. Dawn said the draft does not set administration hours or a license cap; it addresses on‑site healing centers and relies on the state licensing framework and medical provider practices to address staffing and safety protocols, while leaving open the possibility of adding local restrictions later. He also relayed that council members who discussed the item told staff they did not want to “stand in the way of therapy.”
There was no public comment. Commissioner Patrick Quinn moved to recommend approval; the motion carried 6–0. The Planning Commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to City Council for final consideration, with council hearings scheduled in January.
