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Kasson adopts updated cannabis zoning ordinance and buffer map, setting 1,000-ft school and 500-ft daycare distances
Summary
The council approved revised cannabis zoning language and a visual buffer map that sets a 1,000-foot buffer from schools and a 500-foot buffer from childcare facilities serving 13+ children; outdoor cultivation is restricted to certain development-holding zones outside buffer areas.
Kasson City Council on Nov. 19 approved revisions to the city’s cannabis zoning ordinance and adopted a buffer map following a planning commission recommendation.
Planning staff reviewed changes that clarify references to "cannabis retail establishments," direct ventilation requirements to the state Office of Cannabis Management, and define buffer distances: 1,000 feet from schools and 500 feet from child-care facilities serving 13 or more persons. Staff told the council that outdoor cannabis cultivation would be permitted only in development-holding zoning districts and that the ordinance was drafted so cultivation would not be allowed within the statutory buffer distances from schools.
The council voted first to approve the buffer map and then adopted the broader ordinance changes as presented. Staff and commissioners noted that the map is a visual aid and that state statute constrains how buffers can be measured; one planning discussion considered whether buffer zones should be measured from specific activity areas in parks rather than a single dot on the map.
Why it matters: the ordinance sets local land-use constraints for cannabis businesses and is intended to align local zoning with state requirements while defining where retail, events and cultivation may operate inside city limits.
