Agenda - Council - 05/09/2023 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORDINANCE #23-09 CITY OF RAMSEY ANOKA COUNTY STATE OF MINNESOTA AN INTERIM ORDINANCE PROHIBITING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW USES OR THE EXPANSION OF EXITING USES RELATED TO SALES, TESTING, MANUFATURING, AND DISTRIBUTION OF REAL TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL (THC) PRODUCTS AND CHEMICALLY RELATED PRODUCTS The City of Ramsey Does Ordain: Preamble: The interim ordinance is applicable to all of the City of Ramsey for the purpose of protecting the planning process and the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens related to the recently legalized sale of edible cannabinoid products containing Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). A prohibition on the establishment of new uses or the expansion of existing uses related to the sale of such products is necessary to ensure that the City has sufficient time to study potential regulations that will protect the health and safety of the residents of Ramsey. There is insufficient time to complete the ordinary procedure for introduction and adoption of a City ordinance as required by City Charter. Section 1. Authority and Findings. A. The Minnesota Legislature recently amended Minnesota Statutes, Section 151.72 relating to the sale of certain cannabinoid products. The new law permits the sale of edible cannabinoid products, provided that a product sold for human or animal consumption does not contain more than 0.3 percent of tetrahydrocannabinol and an edible cannabinoid product does not contain an amount of any tetrahydrocannabinol that exceeds more than five milligrams of any tetrahydrocannabinol in a single serving, or more than a total of 50 milligrams of any tetrahydrocannabinol per package ("THC Products"). Sales of THC and chemically related product became legal on July 1, 2022. B. The new law allows sales and establishes some labeling and testing requirements, but it does not establish any licensing criteria or parameters for compliance by retailers. The new law does not prohibit local regulation. C. Minnesota Statutes, Section 462.355, subd. 4 provides that if a municipality is conducting studies or has authorized a study to be conducted for the purpose of considering adoption or amendment to an official control, the City Council may adopt an interim ordinance for the purpose of protecting the planning process and the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens. An interim ordinance may regulate, restrict, or prohibit any use within the city for a period not to exceed one year from the effective date of the interim ordinance. Many cities have adopted interim ordinances to study the impacts of certain uses and deterring whether regulations are appropriate for the purpose of protecting the pubic health, safety, and welfare of their citizens; and D. The City Council believes that authorizing a study regarding the types of uses that involve the sales, testing, manufacturing, and distribution of THC Products and any chemically related product is necessary to evaluate the regulatory options available to the City and is for the purpose of protecting the health and safety of Ramsey's residents. E. Upon passage of the aforementioned legislation, further discussion occurred nationally and in Minnesota about expansion of the allowance of THC and chemically related products that were outside of the express regulation provided in Minnesota. Regulation of such things as locations of distribution points of any and all kinds of THC products and any chemically related product are matters of immediate concern as they relate to the health and safety of the citizens of Ramsey. It is necessary, in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City to have as broad a study as possible in this area prior to allowing the sale and/or distribution of any such products within the City.