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Residents urge stronger protections as cannabis operations draw complaints
Summary
At a Pine County public forum, residents described bright lights, strong odors and frequent alarms from nearby cannabis operations and urged rules to site facilities in commercial zones and protect neighbors.
At the Pine County Board public forum, resident Denise Weiss of Royalton Township described recurring problems she says stem from nearby cannabis operations, including lights she said are "4 or 5 miles away" and alarms audible for "0.25 to 0.5 mile." She asked the board to adopt rules that keep operations in industrial or commercial zones and protect residents from nuisance impacts.
"Recently, lights have come on. We can see them 4 or 5 miles away," Weiss said, adding that alarms sounded like "a bunch of fire trucks or police cars" and did not feel like a private, confined alarm system. Les Arbus of Relson Township, who said he helped draft the county ordinance, defended the existing ordinance as a pathway for lawful, state‑approved businesses and urged careful editing rather than wholesale rejection.
The board did not take formal action on the public comments; Chair interrupted the time to note the three‑minute public comment limit and moved the meeting to the posted agenda. The speakers' concerns on light, odor and alarm impacts were entered into the record for future zoning and ordinance discussions.
