Florence may soon clear the way for its first medical cannabis facility.

At a caucus meeting on April 15, city council discussed a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning committee to grant a zone map change for Bluegrass Cannacare LLC.

The medical cannabis facility began the process back in February with a public hearing at the Boone County Planning Commission. The commission later passed the request onto the Florence Planning and Zoning committee.

Recommendation

The proposed site for the facility is .35 acres at 6809 Burlington Pike, a former bank building across from Lee’s Chicken. The request would change the zoning from Commercial 2 to Commercial Services. It also includes a conditional use permit application with the Planning Commission.

Director of Community Development Todd Morgan reminded council of the parameters for cannabis facilities put in place by the city last November. These requirements for cannabis dispensaries include:

  • It must be a locked facility.
  • It cannot be located within 1000 feet of an existing elementary school, secondary school or daycare center.
  • It cannot be located within 500 feet of a public park or playground.
  • It cannot be located within 500 feet of a religious assembly facility.
  • It cannot be located within 500 feet of a sexually oriented business.
  • It must be at least 1000 feet from any other cannabis facilities.  

Considerations for a medical cannabis facility

Morgan noted the proposed facility meets all these requirements. He shared maps of the site to show the location and a rendering with the proposed signage.

Presentation on Bluegrass Cannacare shows a rendering of the outside of the facility, a GIS map shows the site and other businesses nearby, and another map shows how the facility meets the buffer distances required by city ordinance. Photo (of presentation) by Robin Gee | LINK nky contributor

The planning commission provided a list of permitted uses and noted that any other use of the building in the future would not have to go through a change of concept process as long as all other requirements are met.

The addition of landscaping at the front of the building was a condition for approval. The commission also said they would not approve the conditional use permit unless the city council approved the zoning map change request.

“We spent a lot of time reviewing this with the applicant, going over the requirements per the state of Kentucky for operation of this type of facility,” said planning commission member Patricia Wingo. “There can only be the same number of people inside as there are employees. They have to have a medical marijuana ID card to be admitted into the locked building. It’s not just open to the public to wander in, so that’s pretty restrictive.”

Wingo said the operation doesn’t plan to have more than six employees (meaning they could only have six customers at a time), and considers itself a pharmacy and would have minimal signage.

The conversation turned to concerns about traffic, especially when the nearby 7 Hills Church has services. Company representative Jason Coulter said the hours planned are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Saturday. No Sunday hours are planned, he said, but they would know more once the business is in operation. He noted that the drive-through would only be for pickup of orders made in advance online.

Council will revisit and vote on the recommendation for the medical cannabis facility at their next business meeting.