Otter Tail County denies proposed Pelican Rapids cannabis shop due to park buffer

The Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners voted on Oct. 28 to deny a retail cannabis registration for Elevated Dispensaries at 42nd Street Northwest in Pelican Rapids after concluding the location lies inside the county’s 500‑foot buffer measured from Veterans Memorial River Park, which the board found to be a park “regularly used by minors.”

Land and Resource Director Chris LeClaire read a letter from Pelican Rapids Mayor Brent E. Frasier pointing to park use by children and quoting prior applicant remarks, including an excerpt stating “any reasonable adult seeing kids playing on a cannon would ask them to get down.” The letter said that, because children visit the park, allowing the business at the proposed site would violate the county’s buffer standard and potentially state statute.

Why it matters: the county’s ordinance bars cannabis businesses within 500 feet of an attraction in a public state, county, or city park that is regularly used by minors, including playgrounds, lake public accesses, and athletic fields. Commissioners debated whether the park met the “regularly used by minors” threshold and reviewed buffer measurement guidance; county counsel advised the board that standard practice measures from park boundaries and that case law and statutory interpretation support using park boundaries rather than a single attraction as the controlling point.

Commission discussion cited the mayor’s on‑the‑ground knowledge and a lack of contrary evidence. Chair Johnson summarized the board’s conclusion: “the findings are made that we have no evidence to believe that this is not regularly used by minors,” and the board moved to deny the application under the county ordinance. The motion carried by voice vote.

County staff noted this decision applies to the local registration step; the Office of Cannabis Management (state) retains regulatory authority for technical standards, inspections and enforcement once a business is licensed. The board also discussed whether to pursue further ordinance clarifications at a later date to sharpen terms like “regularly used,” but did not take action on ordinance revision at the Oct. 28 meeting.

What’s next: the denial at the local level prevents the applicant from securing a county registration at this site under current local interpretations. The county’s action is administrative; any applicant may seek alternative sites or pursue further administrative or legal remedies outside the scope of this hearing.