The city of Cottonwood is moving forward with changing its rules when it comes to governing medicinal marijuana growing facilities.
The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act was approved by voters in 2010.
The new proposals eliminate size restrictions on cultivation and infusion facilities. Infusion facilities are used to create edible products with marijuana.
Local governments across the state, including Cottonwood, came up with rules to regulate this new legal sector of the economy.
Cottonwood approved its first ordinance about medical marijuana in 2011.
The city has looked at changing its rules as the market has grown and its needs are more clear.
The City Council reviewed the proposed changes last week at its Oct. 20 meeting.
The city has held other meetings to discuss how to change these rules in order to accommodate more space to places that grow marijuana.
“A number of concerns were expressed regarding whether to limit the size of facilities in some manner or whether to allow the market to determine size and density of such facilities,” according to Charlie Scully, a planner with the city’s development services department.
The size limits are currently 10,000 and 5,000 square-feet, for grow and infusion spaces, respectively.
“There’s a lot of concern about medical marijuana,” Garrison said.
Garrison said that perhaps the city should set up a community forum where information can be shared about what local government has to work with when it comes to making rules about marijuana.
The city should also consider what it will do if recreational marijuana gets on to the ballot so it will be prepared.
“This is already here,” Garrison said. “This is just a zoning issue.”
Vice Mayor Karen Pfeifer said she remains in opposition to marijuana laws, medical or otherwise, as marijuana is still illegal under federal law.
“I’m not in support of doing something illegal against the federal government, so I’m opposed to it and what it’s doing to our communities,” Pfeifer said.
Pfeifer said she also understood that medical marijuana is still allowed.
Scully said that the city has been looking at what other local governments have been doing around the state.
“What you see is that there are a range of approaches,” Scully said.
Some of those communities have requirements that keep marijuana facilities a certain distance from schools and churches, but the ways municipalities have addressed these issues is varied.
The proposed rule changes in Cottonwood would also eliminate a separation requirement of 1,000 feet between a cultivation facility and an infusion facility.
The facilities are allowed as long as zoning requirements are met.
Councilman Randy Garrison said he has been actively talking with Arizona voters.
Demitri Downing, a consultant who works with the medical marijuana industry in Arizona and the growing facility in Cottonwood, said that some of the communities in the state seemingly came up with their rules about marijuana “out of thin air.”
Eliminating size restrictions is good for business, Downing said.
Downing compared the current rules to telling a brewery how much of its property it is allowed to use.
Without change, the business would likely just move to another city, Downing said.
“It’s here to stay, it’s not going anywhere,” Dowling said. “It’s an economic benefit to the city of Cottonwood.”
