Sussex County Council amends county marijuana regulations to open up more spaces for cannabis-related retail shops to locate.
Sussex County initial regulations included a three-mile buffer zone between marijuana retail stores and sensitive locations like schools, childcare facilities, drug treatment facilities, libraries and parks, as well as any municipality’s city limits.
Following Gov. Meyers veto of Senate Bill 75, which would have shrunk that buffer to 500 feet, he contacted Sussex County to urge it to reconsider its marijuana zoning rules.
Assistant County Attorney Vincent Robertson says the county’s new rules are still tougher than what Senate Bill 75 envisioned.
"“It is a bit more restrictive as I recall, the separation distances between churches, schools, colleges, and substance abuse treatment facilities was down to like, 500 feet or something like that. And we’ve kept it at the three miles we originally had.” he told council.
Locations will also be required to have three miles of distance between other marijuana stores as well.
The updates change the buffer-zone requirement for municipal boundaries to .5 miles. The county originally instituted a three-mile buffer near city limits to respect the municipalities right to allow or disallow marijuana stores within city limits. According to council, that restriction would prevent a would-be store from "gaming the system" by setting up shop directly bordering city limits.
The county also relaxed other restrictions on where stores could be built. Previously, marijuana businesses were only allowed through conditional use in C-3 heavy commercial districts, and now they’re possible via permitted use in both C-2 and C-3 districts.
This creates more places a prospective business could submit a “by-right” application, which Council is obligated to approve if they meet all requirements.
Sussex County Council Vice President John Rieley, however, has reservations against relaxing the regulations.
“I can't vote yes. In my opinion, my oath was to uphold improvement of the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Sussex County, and I don’t understand how this promotes that objective. My vote is no” he said.
Board President Doug Hudson has spoken against marijuana legalization in the past. Then-Councilman Hudson remarked,
"“I don’t like this law at all, with the legalization, at all. You can’t convince me [cannabis is] not a gateway drug.”
Despite previous reservations, Hudson voted in favor of ordinance changes this time around.
The council passed the motion in a 4-1 vote, with Vice President Rieley as the sole opposition.
