Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Cannabis Ordinance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Long Prairie council adopts ordinance to regulate cannabis businesses, limits city to one retailer
Summary
The council adopted Ordinance No. 25-02-12-01 establishing local registration, zoning checks, buffers from schools and day cares, annual compliance checks, and hours of operation; the ordinance mirrors state statutes and limits the city to a single cannabis retail registration.
The Long Prairie City Council on Feb. 12 adopted Ordinance No. 25-02-12-01 to regulate cannabis businesses within city limits, setting out registration, zoning, enforcement and operational standards.
The ordinance requires any state-licensed cannabis retail business to obtain a local retail registration before operating in Long Prairie and instructs the city to perform a preliminary zoning review within 30 days of receiving a state license application. It establishes statutory buffer zones that prevent a cannabis retailer from operating within 1,000 feet of a school or another cannabis retail business and within 500 feet of a day care, residential treatment facility or park attractions regularly used by minors. The ordinance’s hours-of-operation provision limits retail hours to 8:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. on Sundays.
The ordinance ties local rules to Minnesota law and cites Minn. Stat. 342.13(c), Minn. Stat. 342.22 and Minn. Stat. 152.0263 as authorities for the city’s ability to impose time, place and manner restrictions and to require registration and enforcement. It also requires at least one unannounced age-verification compliance check per calendar year and authorizes the police chief to administer enforcement; civil penalties for registration violations are available up to the fee schedule maximum (not to exceed $2,000 per the ordinance).
Council Member Gripne moved to approve the ordinance, Council Member Schroeder seconded, and the motion passed on roll call with Mayor James Kreemer, Gripne, Schroeder and Krueger voting yes and Council Member Gabrier Perez abstaining. The ordinance text states the city may allow only one cannabis retail business registration within its boundaries, and completed applications are processed in the order received. The ordinance becomes effective after publication and lists Jan. 1, 2025, as the effective date in its text.
