Cannabis limits talks in Rochester tabled at City Council meeting
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(ABC 6 News) – The Rochester City Council is considering an ordinance that would limit the number of cannabis businesses to one per 12,000 residents, meaning only nine would be allowed to operate in the city.
They also proposed to prohibit operation of new cannabis businesses in the city before January 1, 2025.
This is something Rochester representative Andy Smith says would hurt small businesses.
He said if the ordinance is approved, people will likely go elsewhere to buy cannabis once retailers open up shop.
Not only did he say it would be bad for local businesses, but it would likely end up hurting the local economy.
The city council is considered an ordinance that would limit the number of cannabis businesses to one per 12,000 residents meaning only nine would be allowed to operate in the city. They also proposed to prohibit operation of new cannabis businesses in the city before January 1, 2025.
“I would basically cut that in half where there should be 1 for every 6,000 residents just because that allows more competition, somewhere around 20 dispensaries and especially when I say more competition I mean specifically with smaller businesses,” said Smith.
Given time constraints of the meeting, the city council decided to table the discussion and will pick it back up at the July 24 meeting.