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Montrose council approves Wright County cannabis JPA, bans smoking in parks and OKs MnDOT Highway 12 agreement
Summary
At its Nov. 12 meeting the City of Montrose council approved a joint-powers agreement with Wright County on cannabis zoning, adopted an ordinance banning tobacco and cannabis smoking in city parks, and authorized a cooperative agreement with MnDOT for the Highway 12 project, including an estimated $305,000 city participation cost.
The Montrose City Council on Nov. 12 approved a Wright County joint-powers agreement that clarifies how local zoning will interact with county rules on cannabis-related buffers and followed by passing a parks smoking ban and authorizing a cooperative MnDOT agreement for Highway 12 improvements.
City staff told the council the county indicated it would accept language making the city's zoning authority supersede county buffer rules. After questions from council members about how the buffers would affect business opportunities in town, the council voted 5-0 to adopt resolution 2024-38 approving the JPA as amended.
Minutes later the council approved ordinance 2024-04, which prohibits smoking of tobacco and cannabis products in city parks, and then unanimously authorized summary publication of the ordinance under resolution 2024-37.
On infrastructure, the city engineer summarized a cooperative agreement with the Minnesota Department of Transportation covering maintenance responsibilities, lighting and ADA sidewalk improvements, a pedestrian flasher replacement and other routine items. Staff estimated Montrose's participation would be roughly $305,000; the council adopted resolution 2024-36 to enter the MnDOT agreement, 5-0.
Council members said they supported the zoning language because the county's original buffer proposals would have effectively prohibited cannabis businesses in most of Montrose. On the parks smoking ban, staff framed the ordinance as a zoning/park code restriction; the council approved the ordinance and the companion publication resolution without debate.
The MnDOT agreement had more technical discussion: the engineer confirmed the project primarily resurfaces Highway 12 with a new left-turn lane near Zephyr, lighting to be city-owned and maintained, and ADA sidewalk work; the council asked staff to confirm whether an additional right-turn lane appeared on final plans.
The council approved the actions during the regular meeting; staff said the zoning ordinance text and any implementing regulations will return to the council if details require further changes. The council adjourned after closing business.
