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Commission approves text amendment and interim use permit to allow cannabis greenhouse with 10‑ft fence
Summary
The planning commission approved a text amendment to allow accessory greenhouses for cannabis microbusinesses in the Town Center district, an interim use permit amendment with conditions, and a variance to permit a 10‑ft fence as requested by the applicant; final action will go to city council on October 6.
The Brainerd Planning Commission approved a package of measures to allow a cannabis microbusiness greenhouse to operate at an existing commercial greenhouse site, subject to specified conditions.
Director Kanbeck reviewed the request by Mr. Zalinsky to add cannabis cultivation to the list of allowable greenhouse uses in the TC district, to amend his interim use permit and to grant a variance for fence height. Staff noted the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) requires a 10‑ft fence for such growing operations while the city’s nonresidential fence standard is 8.5 feet; staff recommended the text amendment and IUP amendment with conditions and recommended the variance because the difference in state and local standards created a practical difficulty.
Conditions recommended and approved by the commission require no outdoor storage, limit indoor storage to materials incidental to greenhouse operations, require cannabis plants to be grown indoors, and require removal of the greenhouse within 60 days should the establishment cease operations. The commission added a clarifying finding of fact about the timing of local fence standards relative to OCM requirements when approving the variance.
Applicant D Zalinsky told the commission he holds one of the city’s dispensary registrations and intends to operate a separate retail space called Craft Roots in the same building and to grow cannabis in the greenhouse. He said he has been working with state licensing for six years.
The commission’s approvals will be forwarded to the City Council for final action at the October 6 meeting.
