The Bel Air Planning Commission recommended that the Town Board consider the less‑restrictive draft (Option 2) of a proposed ordinance to amend local development regulations for cannabis businesses, citing the need to align local code with recent changes in state law.

Planning staff told the commission that Senate Bill 215, enacted in April 2025 and effective July 2025, imposes new statewide rules for licensed dispensaries that include setbacks from certain sensitive uses (schools, licensed child‑care centers, playgrounds, libraries, parks and places of worship) and a minimum distance between dispensaries (a statutory framework that allows municipalities limited authority to adjust some distances up to specified limits). Staff said the statute also contains general language warning that a political subdivision may not adopt zoning requirements for licensed dispensaries that are more restrictive than those applied to retail dealers licensed under the alcoholic beverages article; that provision has created interpretive difficulty for local codes attempting to apply cannabis setbacks without also reworking longstanding liquor setbacks.

Commissioners discussed the consequences of strict interpretations—such as applying 500‑foot or 1,000‑foot buffers in a compact downtown—and whether applying cannabis setbacks to liquor retailers would create many nonconforming uses. Commissioners also discussed grandfathering existing uses, the treatment of large project areas (e.g., Hartford Mall treated as a single project area), and the need to coordinate on whether property‑line‑to‑property‑line measurements or project‑area approaches apply.

After discussion, a motion to recommend Option 2—the version described by staff as the least intrusive and which preserves existing liquor setbacks while applying the statutory cannabis buffers—passed with four ayes and one abstention. The commission asked staff to forward the recommendation and supporting materials to the Town Board for their consideration; staff noted the draft remained a first cut and that further legal review and public input were anticipated before any final town ordinance is adopted.

Next steps: staff will send the commission’s recommendation and the draft ordinance to the Town Board and continue to refine the draft in light of legal review and public feedback.