Committee hashes out rules for medical marijuana dispensaries

The Libby City Council resolution/ordinance committee on Thursday, June 8 held its second meeting to develop an ordinance governing the location and operation of medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits.

At its first meeting on May 25, the committee agreed to use as a framework the recommendations previously made by the city planning board, adding to it potential restrictions including requiring dispensaries to be located in the city’s medical district, using the city’s existing conditional use permitting process and limiting hours of operation, as well as considering whether proximity to any other dispensary would be an issue.

At Thursday’s meeting, based on feedback heard during the previous Monday’s City Council meeting, the committee discussed allowing dispensaries to be located along a section of Highway 2 from Maple Street to Spruce Street in addition to the medical district.

Committee Chair Kristin Smith stressed to the handful of people who attended the committee meeting that the draft ordinance was still “very rough.”

Committee member Brian Zimmerman opened the discussion by suggesting they strike an item stating a dispensary could not be located within 1,000 feet of another, an item Smith said she had added “to make sure we consider all angles.” Smith and committee member Peggy Williams agreed with the suggestion to drop it.

On the matter of restricting hours of operation to seven to eight hours a day, Zimmerman turned to the public attendees to ask Barbie Turner, co-owner of the dispensary Alternative Releaf just outside city limits, whether that would be adequate for doing business. Turner, who has said she would open a dispensary within city limits were it allowed, said it would present “no problem.”

The committee also discussed signage requirements.

“We have very poor sign regulations within city limits,” Smith said. “Any opportunity we have to improve that I think we should do.”

The committee didn’t discuss what those restrictions might entail.

As far as determining where to locate medical marijuana dispensaries, Zimmerman maintained he was adamant they be permitted only within the medical district, at least for now.

“For me, this is the first step and see how it goes,” he said. “If down the road we need to look at something else then maybe something needs to change (at that time).”

Williams and Smith agreed to remove the option to locate dispensaries along the stretch of Highway 2.

Smith noted that the next steps are to fine-tune the draft and seek legal counsel on its language, and then to meet at least once more as a committee to discuss the matter before presenting it to the City Council.

On Monday Smith said the committee had not yet scheduled its next meeting.