A special meeting was held on October 28th between the Silver Bay City Council, the Economic Development Committee, and Planning and Zoning to discuss how the city will handle permitting and licensing of retail cannabis businesses when they are able to begin operations next year.
The Lake County Board is in the process of drafting an ordinance of its own and has asked officials of Silver Bay and other municipalities to weigh in on what they want to do with regard to permitting and licensing cannabis retailers in their cities.
The question on Silver Bay official’s minds is, do they want the city to be in charge of permitting cannabis businesses or do they want those decisions to fall to the County? These questions continue to be somewhat confusing because details about the permitting and licensing of cannabis businesses are still being studied by local officials. City Administrator Lana Fralich indicated that if city administrative staff are to shoulder the responsibility of issuing permits, it will add to an already heavy workload.
State law allows for at least one cannabis retailer per 12,500 residents. Local governments may limit the number of retailers in their jurisdictions as long as this limit (one per 12,500) is met within the county. If this population requirement is not met, Silver Bay officials would not be able to prohibit the establishment of a cannabis retailer within city limits. There are currently 10,905 residents living in Lake County. Two Harbors officials are also considering their options and apparently have decided to allow for one independent cannabis retailer with the possible option of establishing a municipal cannabis retail business in the future.
If and when cannabis retail comes to Silver Bay, Planning and Zoning will be responsible for determining where retailers will be located. There are some on the City Council who are not in favor of having cannabis sold in Silver Bay. That being said, the Council voted to defer permitting and enforcement to Lake County while retaining local control over what can happen with cannabis retailers in Silver Bay. A moratorium on cannabis sales remains in effect through the end of this year.
