Silver Bay City Council Adopts Licensing & Municipal Cannabis Business Regulations

The Silver Bay City Council met this past Tuesday, to get input from the public on a resolution that will be going into effect re­garding licensing and regulating cannabis businesses within the confines of the city.

The resolution that was voted on reads, in part, “WHEREAS, The City of Silver Bay (hereinafter “City”) makes the following legislative findings: The purpose of this ordinance is to imple­ment the provisions of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 342, which authorizes the City to protect the public health, safety, wel­fare of City of Silver Bay residents by reg­ulating cannabis busi­nesses within the le­gal boundaries of the City. The City finds and concludes that the proposed provisions are appropriate and lawful licensing reg­ulations for the City of Silver Bay, Lake County, Minnesota, and that the proposed ordinance will pro­mote the community’s interest in public safe­ty and be for the public good. The City finds and concludes that pursuant to Minn. Stat. Sec. 342.13(i), if a county has one active (cannabis) registration for every 12,500 resi­dents, a city within the county is not obligated to register a canna­bis business. The City finds and concludes that the City of Two Harbors, Lake County, Minnesota has passed an ordinance stating an intention to issue one cannabis business license. The City finds and concludes that the United States Cen­sus Bureau popula­tion estimate for Lake County, Minnesota, as of July 1, 2023, is 10,855. The City finds and concludes that the requirements of Minn. Stat. Sec. 342.13(i) have been met by the issuance of one canna­bis registration in Lake County, Minnesota.”

In short, the Council adopted the resolution and will not issue a registration or license to any retail cannabis business, temporary cannabis event or oth­er cannabis business within the city limits. While a small group of residents were present at the meeting, there were no public com­ments regarding this particular resolution.

The Council further accepted a resolution authorizing the City to enter into an agree­ment with the State of Minnesota through the Iron Range Resources Office for a $3 million grant for phase 1 of the City-Wide Road and Utility Improvement Project.

An informational meeting will be held on February 5th so the public can get informa­tion on the proposed improvements for the CSAH 32 reconstruc­tion project. An addi­tional hearing has been scheduled for February 10th at 6:00 concerning the CSAH 32 project. The estimated cost of the project is projected to be $6,210,000. The part of this project that is the City’s responsi­bility covers sewer and water service. Lake County will be respon­sible for the road work. Both of these meetings will be held at Union Hall.

A public hearing con­cerning the franchise agreement between the City of Silver Bay and Minnesota Power is scheduled to take place at the February 18th Council meeting. Council members vot­ed to raise the monthly franchise fee from $3 to $5, per household.

Steve VanHouse was reappointed to the Parks and Recreation and the Planning and Zoning Boards.

Finally, I want to apologize for mis­spelling Council mem­ber James FitzGerald’s name in the January 6th edition of the Jour­nal.

The next Silver Bay Council meeting is scheduled for Febru­ary 3rd at 7:00 PM.