New Castle County will require recreational marijuana dispensaries to keep one mile from existing retail marijuana stores, 1,000 ft from substance abuse treatment facilities and 1,000 ft from daycares, schools, churches and government buildings.
While these requirements are slightly more restrictive than state code, the ordinance is shaping up to be one of the least restrictive in the state.
“All we have left is where the retail areas can be, and we've tried to make them as protective of the public as we can," Councilwoman Janet Kilpatrick said, who co-sponsored the ordinance on behalf of the Land Use Committee.
While the ordinance is 15 times less restrictive than Sussex County's 3-mile buffer zone, Councilman Jea P. Street says he still can’t get behind the concept of recreational marijuana as a whole.
“I understand that we [tried] to put in some constraints and keep it away from schools and churches whatever, but to me, all that's woefully insufficient. So I'm not going to tie up everybody's time, but I just can't support this.”
The ordinance passed with nine yes votes, two no votes, one abstention and one absent.
While municipalities are legally allowed to ban recreational marijuana business within city limits, state code prohibits counties from imposing an outright ban.
Municipalities across the state are still shaping their recreational marijuana policies.
Dover just approved a 500 ft buffer for retail locations from sensitive areas.
Several Sussex County towns have already banned marijuana business in some form, including Seaford, Dagsboro, Millsboro and Bridgeville, and most of the beach-area towns, including Rehoboth, Dewey, Lewes, Fenwick Island, Ocean View, Bethany, South Bethany and Milton.
Georgetown ultimately did give the go ahead to authorizing recreational marijuana business with a tight 3-2 vote.
Milford is currently considering allowing cultivation and testing facilities, while prohibiting retail marijuana stores or allowing retail stores as long as they are 500 ft from sensitive areas.
Middletown and New Castle already banned recreational marijuana business, Newark approved very restrictive requirements and Wilmington is currently considering its own restrictions if not banning retail marijuana business entirely.
