City debating where cannabis businesses should be

Taking a cautious approach to Minnesota’s new marijuana industry, Eden Prairie City Council members indicated Tuesday they’ll probably restrict the number of new cannabis businesses allowed in the city and may also tightly restrict their location.

The city’s power in regulating cannabis is limited – business licenses will be granted by the state’s Office of Cannabis Management – but some local regulation is allowed and is expected to be defined by the City Council before state licensing begins in 2025.

In an informal workshop session on Aug. 20, the council indicated it may hold the number of cannabis businesses – including retailers – to five or six, which is the Eden Prairie minimum set by state law based on population, one per every 12,500 residents.

The city can allow more, but it indicated this week it doesn’t wish to – at least not until it sees how the new marijuana marketplace evolves.

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“It sounds like we all want to stay with the five. We do not at this time want to go above it,” said Mayor Ron Case while summarizing council member discussion Tuesday.

The 2023 Minnesota Legislature legalized adult use of marijuana, and many cities have since clarified that pot smoking will not be allowed in parks, where use of tobacco has been prohibited. But the advent of cannabis retailers as well as cultivating, manufacturing, wholesaling and delivery businesses in 2025 raises new concerns.

While state law leaves cities out of the licensing process, they still must “register” the businesses and hold them to the city’s zoning regulations.

For example, the city may regulate their location by prohibiting them from being within 1,000 feet of a school or 500 feet of a residential treatment facility, child day care, or park, according to Julie Klima, the city’s director of community development. The city may also require a specific distance between retailers and prohibit them from some zoning districts altogether, such as the “neighborhood commercial” zoning district.

It may be a while before the council decides on buffers or excluded zoning districts.

“We’re not in a rush to do anything imminently,” said Case, who suggested city staff come back with a clearer picture of what locations would still be available for cannabis businesses if buffers from schools or some other existing uses were required by the city.

 “I’d just like to see what it looks like,” he added. “Where would the best places be, in your mind, for five of these locations?”

City Manager Rick Getschow said the staff’s goal is to have regulations in place by the end of the year.

State law also requires cities to conduct compliance checks on retail cannabis businesses, much like cities do with tobacco and alcohol sales.