A Huber Heights councilman has drafted new proposed legislation that would give the medical marijuana industry a second chance to come to the community.
The changes proposed by Councilman Richard Shaw would remove any mention of dispensaries, address issues with odors, add a 200-foot barrier between cultivator or processor businesses and residential properties, and includes a requirement for marijuana businesses to share with local police their plans for hazardous waste.
Shaw said he has reviewed about 15 zoning changes related to medical marijuana in other Ohio communities. He said Huber Heights would be the first community to adopt the above measures.
“I’ve been working on this, researching medical marijuana for over 10 months,” Shaw said. “A lot of the changes in there are not found in any of the other ordinances in the state of Ohio.”
The proposed legislation will be discussed at a Sept. 5 work session.
In July, Huber Heights City Council voted down a zoning change to allow medical marijuana cultivators, processors and distributors, and additionally passed a moratorium on the industry in the city. The vote on both measures — rejection of the change to the zoning code and approval of the moratorium — was 6-2.
The vote against medical marijuana went against the recommendation of the city’s planning commission and and was a setback for a group of businessmen who wanted to start a cultivation facility, though they said they would still fight to bring their business to the community.
An attorney for FW Green Investments LLC, the firm that sought to start a cultivation facility in Huber Heights, said the company is still interested in locating within the city. The company’s general counsel, Steve Anevski, said there is support for legislation that would allow the company to move into the city.
In June, FW Green filed a zoning application with the city for a medical marijuana facility in a 96,000-square-foot building at 5051 Kitridge Road. At the time, Anevski said the site represented about $10 million in investment in the community and could create 150 jobs by the time it scaled up to phase three growth area of 75,000 square feet.
The vote was claimed as a victory for a host of citizens who vocally opposed the measure.
Councilman Mark Campbell, who voted for the moratorium, said that he will look at what Shaw has introduced during the moratorium period. Still, he has reservations about what marijuana could do to the city’s image.
“This still boils town to me as an image and branding issue for the city of Huber Heights,” Campbell said. “I haven’t seen a cost-benefit analysis that outweighs the risk.”
Ohio legislators passed a law in June 2016 allowing medical cannabis to be prescribed under certain conditions to patients suffering one or more of 20 qualifying medical conditions.
Other suburban communities continue to grapple with the marijuana issue.
Moraine’s planning commission has recommended approval of banning medical marijuana operations in the city. The issue will be part of a public hearing, likely in September. The city has had a moratorium on the issue for more than a year.
Springboro continues to move toward prohibition. Riverside’s council is considering selling land to a marijuana cultivator.
credit:daytondailynews.com
