At Tuesday night’s meeting, the Erlanger City Council brought forth a resolution for the city’s medicinal cannabis zoning.
The proposed text amendment to the Erlanger Zoning Ordinance would add medical cannabis as “a permitted use for cultivation, processing, production, dispensary and safety compliance in all the employment zones, or the old industrial zones,” according to City Attorney Jack Gatlin. It also would place all dispensaries in the commercial zones. Other information added to the zoning document included definitions for words implemented into the article.
Medical cannabis will be legal in Kentucky starting Jan. 1, 2025.
Each individual city is responsible for creating the zoning regulations to make way (or not allow) those types of businesses to operate.
But, if cities do not have those regulations in place by June 30, the state can begin issuing licenses, and if those businesses start operations, they will be grandfathered against any future regulation.
These facilities must also adhere to the regulations proposed in the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) Chapter 218B, which were discussed in the Kentucky General Assembly’s 2023 session. Some regulations for these facilities include basic business requirements, like record keeping and being subject to a reasonable inspection by the cabinet if necessary.
Gatlin also mentioned that the Planning and Development Services, known as PDS, of Kenton County is looking at a ban on medicinal cannabis in the county. Back in April, PDS suggested potential restrictions in a memo, including limiting the number of established cannabis business operations within a zone and specific hours of operation. With a possible ban on the table, it could alter or delay the zoning ordinance proposed by the city.
“This is just sending [the document] to a public hearing, so the public hearing PDS is anticipating is gonna be September [or] October with what’s going on with the county that timeline might change a little bit,” he said. “But this is just getting it kinda in the shoot for there to be a public hearing.”
PDS is requesting a county-wide approach to the cities that will allow medicinal cannabis, Gatlin added.
At this time, there is no set date to reopen discussion on medicinal cannabis in the city. Gatlin said the ordinance will return to the council for a first and second reading sometime in the fall.