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Wilmington planning committee reinstates old buffer for legal weed businesses. What’s next

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Wilmington planning committee reinstates old buffer for legal weed businesses. What’s next

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Delaware’s largest city will decide whether to welcome one marijuana business or two − maybe three − in the coming weeks as the state prepares for its future with recreational marijuana.

A contentious Wilmington City Planning Commission special meeting Tuesday night reset the ordinance on marijuana cultivation, manufacturing, testing or retail locations to be at least 100 feet from a K-12 school or residential area. In order to prevent oversaturation, the state-mandated 1,200-foot buffer between the same kind of marijuana business was doubled in this ordinance to nearly a half mile or 2,600 feet.

It also requires these businesses to have a special exception to operate in a C-2 or C-2A zone, defined as “Secondary Business Commercial Centers,” according to the city’s zoning map. The amendment was approved on a 4-2 vote.

In all, the buffers create space for a very small number of businesses in the city, as one member of the public who owned a local medical marijuana business pointed out. Committee chair Anthony Hill agreed.

“Functionally speaking, they’re looking at two potential sites citywide, and maybe three, depending on some very specifics when we consider the amount of space that … there needs to be between each one,” he said.

The 100-foot buffer was the first version presented to the planning commission but was changed to 300 feet following the last planning meeting. Now, it’s back to 100 feet and will be voted on by the Community Development and Urban Planning Committee on Wednesday, Oct. 23 to decide whether it gets to City Council.

Tanya Washington, chief of staff for Mayor Mike Purzycki’s office and member of the City Planning Committee, introduced the new version of the amendment, which was an unwelcome compromise to the many members of the public present who wanted the buffer to remain at 300 feet, with some calling for an expansion to 500 feet.

Wilmington’s Director of Finance J. Brett Taylor seconded the amendment.

The ordinance allows businesses to operate in commercial, manufacturing and waterfront zones. According to the city’s current zoning map, downtown Wilmington, the Waterfront District and areas east towards the Delaware River make up the majority of those areas.

Recreational marijuana use in Delaware was legalized in 2023. The legalization was passed by Gov. John Carney, who did not sign it, but rather let it pass into law without his signature. Carney is expected to assume the role of Wilmington’s next mayor following the general election in November.

Public, some council members still concerned over legal weed

Over 20 people packed the City Council Committee room on Tuesday night. City councilmembers Nathan Field, James Spadola, Chris Johnson and Zanthia Oliver joined the amendment’s sponsor Maria Cabrera in the room, despite not being on the committee. Councilmember Latisha Bracy joined on Zoom.

Of the people who showed up for the meeting’s public comment, many opposed the slimmer buffer, citing effects on schools, public health, and general quality of life. Specifically, many people were worried about exposure to marijuana through those smoking it in public.

While committee chair Anthony Hill’s request for public comment to be zoning-related was mostly honored, some comments tackled the broader topic of marijuana use in the city.

“They’re children in our area. There are senior citizens in our area, and we do not want them exposed to it,” Zakiya Minkah said at the meeting.

Minkah’s comments hit the theme of most public comments shared Tuesday. Another concern from the public and some council members was the timeline of these changes and worries that the city was being too hasty with its decision-making.

“You’re asking for the opinions of council members on the proposal that we just heard about five minutes ago, a complicated proposal,” councilmember Nathan Field said.

At the meeting, Wilmington’s Deputy Director of Economic Development Sean Park said the 300-foot buffer “effectively eliminates” places where businesses with social equity licenses could operate. The social equity licenses are for applicants who live in census tracts the state has found to be disproportionately affected by harmful drug law enforcement in the past.

He said these restrictions could attract national and regional chains rather than attract small businesses.

“After researching the available commercial listings currently on the market, the 300-foot buffer would eliminate all of the current listings for available commercial spaces and disproportionately impacted areas, aside from downtown Wilmington, and an indirect effect of concentrating future retail operations into a downtown where rents are, on average, higher,” he said.

What the city council makes of the proposal will come down to a meeting on Nov. 7, if the new amendment with the old 100-foot buffer escapes Wednesday’s committee meeting.

Wilmington joins Newark in allowing, but restricting, legal weed businesses

Wilmington is taking a similar approach to marijuana as other governments in Delaware.

According to state law, counties cannot outright ban the businesses, but municipalities can.

In August, Newark established buffer zones of 300 feet between businesses and residential and school zones. It also amended the zoning of an area with an existing medical marijuana facility near downtown Newark and another area near the Maryland border.

The 300-foot buffer is less limiting in Newark because it is less densely populated outside of the University of Delaware campus and downtown areas.

New Castle County does not have any restrictions on the books as of yet, but legislation has been introduced.

These restrictions may be strict but are not on the same level as other municipalities in Delaware. Lewes, Rehoboth Beach and Bethany Beach are among the Sussex County municipalities that banned businesses altogether.

Sussex County put the clamps on the industry by not allowing marijuana businesses to open within three miles of a municipal border, school, church, daycare, college, substance abuse treatment facility, or other marijuana retail. These restrictions make it almost impossible to open one in a financially viable location.

Weed license lotteries: Over 800 applications are vying for Delaware’s 30 marijuana retail licenses

Weed license lotteries on the horizon

The first licenses are going to be awarded in a lottery on Wednesday, Oct. 24. The other lotteries will follow in 2024 and early 2025. The large amount of applications for the retail licenses led to a separate, retail-only lottery which will be held later in 2024.

The separate lottery prompted Washington to urge swift regulatory action before the city takes applications to open these businesses.

“There was mention that we had plenty of time to really discuss this matter, to make a decision,” Washington said. “According to the Office of Marijuana, the retail licenses will be issued by December, so there is not the luxury of time.”

The state expects the first businesses to open their doors in April 2025. However, it could be some time before dispensaries open up around Delaware. It has to be a homegrown industry because transporting marijuana over state lines is illegal.

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