A decision to prohibit or legalize commercial marijuana in Cortez could be settled next month.<\/p>\n
City Manager Shane Hale said council members would take up the measure at its Aug. 12 meeting. It remains unknown if the agenda item would include both a prohibitive and enabling ordinance, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to discuss the logistics with Mike Green,\u201d said Hale, referencing the city\u2019s attorney.<\/p>\n
Hale said he envisions including both draft ordinances, and then having one agenda item listed either to allow or to ban retail marijuana sales.<\/p>\n
After a two-hour discussion on Tuesday, July 22, council members directed Hale to research operational costs of selling marijuana in Cortez. Fees for police, fire and building inspections, for example, would be assessed to business owners.<\/p>\n
The decision to outlaw or permit retail sales would be subject public hearings, Hale said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are weighing their decision heavily on the folks that they hear from,\u201d Hale said. \u201cSo, testimony at the public hearings would likely shape the ultimate outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Green presented the council with two draft ordinances. One would prohibit retail marijuana sales to adults, and the other would enable the industry to exist within city limits.<\/p>\n
The 17-page draft ordinance to legalize commercial sales was developed using Steamboat Springs as a model, said Green, who added that he fused the strictest language possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what city staff recommends as an ordinance,\u201d Green told council members. \u201cIt\u2019s a good starting point.\u201d<\/p>\n
As written, the ordinance would prohibit the manufacture of hash oil, commercial operations within 1,500 feet of any school and exterior signage larger than standard office paper using the words \u201cmarijuana,\u201d \u201ccannabis\u201d or any other \u201csymbol commonly understood to refer to marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n
The proposed ordinance would also cap the number of retailers, require video surveillance along with burglary and fire-alarm systems and set operational and administrative fees.<\/p>\n
During the workshop, it appeared that councilman Bob Archibeque was the staunchest opponent to legalization. The 34-year educator indicated the city shouldn\u2019t send the wrong signal to youths.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have the right to run our community how we deem appropriate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Council member Jim Price countered that retail marijuana could only be sold to adults 21 and older.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust because we allow it to be legally sold doesn\u2019t mean the whole town is going to smoke pot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Council members Orly Lucero and Tom Butler indicated they were straddling the fence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve changed my mind on the issue so many times,\u201d said Butler, shaking his head.<\/p>\n
Mayor Karen Sheek and councilman Ty Keel indicated they favored commercial marijuana, saying access to the once-illicit commodity could be better controlled with regulations.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarijuana is here now whether we like it or not,\u201d said Sheek. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to put a lid on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last month, days before a commercial marijuana moratorium was to sunset, the council voted unanimously to extend its ban of retail marijuana sales through 2014. The initial moratorium was adopted last fall, four months before legalized sales on Jan. 1.<\/p>\n
As a result of Amendment 64, Colorado became the first state to authorize and regulate commercial marijuana sales starting in 2014. In the first quarter, $7.3 million in state taxes was collected.<\/p>\n
According to officials, the city\u2019s 4 percent sales tax on medical marijuana adds about $50,000 annually to city coffers.<\/p>\n