County seeks information from cities, townships 

By Tim Douglass

tdouglass@pctribune.com

Pope County Commissioners reviewed a letter last Tuesday that will be sent on their behalf to all the cities and townships regarding cannabis business regulation.

Statutes enacted in a past state legislative session legalized cannabis use and put in place a regulatory scheme to govern cannabis-related businesses.  Most of this regulation remains with the State of Minnesota and its Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), but there are some provisions in the law which reserve certain local controls to counties and to cities and townships if they so choose.

The letter, Pope County Administrator Kersten Kappmeyer told the board at its regular meeting last Tuesday, is an effort to inform the cities and townships within the county about certain provisions in the statutes allowing for local control; to ask that each to consider whether to exercise local control themselves or inform the county that they are deferring to the Pope County for those functions; and encouraged each to consult with land use, legal, or association resources for more information in making decisions about cannabis business regulation.  The letter also reminds cities and townships that the cannabis business moratorium within the county expires on Dec. 31 of this year.

The letter to the governmental entities within the county points out that there are “certain steps a township or city must take to regulate cannabis businesses under the new state statutes. With that in mind, the county administration and board is seeking specific information from each city and township about plans on cannabis business regulation.  

According to the letter reviewed by the county board, the information sought through the county’s correspondence includes:

1. “Whether your city or township is planning to adopt land-use restrictions and/or restrictions on the time, place, and manner of operations of cannabis businesses in your jurisdiction as allowed by Minn. Stat. §342.13 (c) and (f).”

The letter states that a city or township may adopt such land-use restrictions or time/place/manner restrictions, which may be especially appropriate where the city or township already has an existing regulatory ordinance in place to do so. If not, the city may  wish to confer with the county on whether to rely on its regulation. The letter directs cities and townships to contact David Green with the Pope County Land and Resource Management office at (320) 634-7791 if that is something the jurisdiction would like to consider.

2. “Whether your city or township wishes to consent any restriction by the County to cap the number of retail business licenses to a certain number as allowed by Minn. Stat.§342.13 (i) and (j).

This provision allows a cap to be placed on the number of retail licenses allowed to 1 for every 12,500 of population in a county, if agreed to by the county and all of its jurisdictions. The cap does not include municipally-owned retailers, but otherwise may restrict the number of retail licenses in the County. This requires each jurisdiction in the County to adopt an ordinance restricting retail licenses to Township and City Regulation of Cannabis Businesses in Pope County the cap in order to be effective, and each city or town retains the right to unilaterally reject the cap in their jurisdiction if they choose to do so.

3.  “Whether your city or township wishes to defer the registration and enforcement functions that rest with local units of government to the County rather than taking on registration and enforcement in the city or township.

Minn. Stat. §342.22, subd. 1 allows a town or city to consent to the county handling all the local registration and enforcement (compliance check) duties that this section otherwise imposes on each local unit of government with a retail establishment in its jurisdiction. If the city or township wishes to do that, this should be clearly done as part of any regulatory ordinance, and the County should receive notice of the decision.

According to the letter, Kappmeyer stated that the information provided by local cities and township is important and needed.  

“Local control of cannabis businesses is important, as in some cases, the failure to act on these or any other provision of law could potentially deprive the city or town of the ability to regulate these businesses in the future,” it was stated.  The letter also reiterated the county-wide moratorium under the public health authority prohibiting licensing of businesses anywhere in Pope County until after December 31, 2024.  “…After that date, businesses will be free to petition a local unit of government for siting of such a business, with fewer grounds on which to exercise local control if no action has been taken. Therefore, acting locally to either defer to the County or to have your own local regulatory system in place is something you may want to strongly consider,” the letter stated.

Pope County cities and townships have been waiting for direction from the state and/or the county and this letter will get things started, it was stated at Tuesday’s meeting.  The letter also states that local government units may want to “reach out, as applicable, to your land use consultant or staff, your legal counsel, or the Minnesota Association of Townships or League of Minnesota Cities as applicable for more information or guidance on making the decisions on this topic that are right for your township or city.”