Pinetop-Lakeside council narrows dispensary locations, approves 750-foot setback from family-oriented businesses

The Pinetop-Lakeside Town Council voted unanimously to amend local zoning rules for dual-licensed marijuana dispensaries, increasing the required setback from privately owned family-oriented businesses to 750 feet property line-to-property line.

Jennifer, the town's new community development manager, told council the Planning & Zoning Commission recommended increasing the maximum gross square footage for dispensaries to 4,000 square feet and adding a 500-foot setback from family-oriented businesses. She explained the change was prompted by industry norms—many dispensaries operate in footprints larger than the town's old 2,000-square-foot limit—and by a desire to add clarity to the code. "Revising subsection C2 to allow dispensaries a maximum gross square footage of 4,000 square feet and amending subsection C5 to require dispensaries to be located at least 500 ft away from the property line of a privately-owned family oriented place of business," Jennifer said during the presentation.

Council members pressed staff for local site counts and impacts. Jennifer said C1 zoning contains roughly 550 parcels but that schools and other constraints reduce the number of immediately viable parcels to about 50–55 under the proposed setbacks. Chief Barnes, representing the police department, said he did not expect a major change in public-safety demand: "I don't think we're going to see a lot of change," he said, noting nearby areas already host dispensaries without significant security incidents.

Residents and business operators raised neighborhood and quality-of-life concerns during the public hearing. Several speakers asked that the town avoid locating dispensaries next to family destinations or close to outdoor dining areas, citing smell and tourist experience. Others pointed to potential revenue: staff and council referenced anecdotal local revenue figures and higher-volume markets, but no formal revenue guarantee was presented.

Council debated multiple motions. An initial proposal to raise the size cap to 4,000 square feet and set a 500-foot setback was introduced and then amended during debate; a motion to maintain a 2,000-square-foot cap failed. The council then advanced an amendment to require dispensaries be at least 750 feet from the property line of movie theaters, bowling alleys, miniature golf and sporting facilities; that motion carried unanimously. The council followed with a matching amendment to the town's recreational marijuana code to maintain cohesion between the two codes.

The adopted changes modify the town code (ordinance 26-491 and ordinance 26-492) to create clearer placement and size rules for dual-licensed dispensaries. Staff noted that developers could pursue parcel splits or other land-use processes but that the town's ordinance establishes baseline limits and setbacks. The council did not adopt a guaranteed square-foot cap in the final motion; the key, affirmative change adopted at this meeting was the 750-foot setback from family-oriented uses.

Next steps: staff will update the town code language and the planning and zoning materials to reflect the council's direction and publish the amended ordinances and maps.