MANSFIELD — A special Mansfield City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday at 6:30 p.m. to discuss proposed zoning ordinances for recreational cannabis dispensaries.
The meeting was called Wednesday morning by council members Cheryl Meier (2nd Ward), Laura Burns (1st Ward) and Stephanie Zader (At-large), who also requested discussion on repealing the current ban on medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.
Those three local lawmakers voted Tuesday night against delaying the overturn of that ban, losing in a 4-3 decision as council agreed to push the vote back to its next scheduled meeting on Aug. 20.
The special meeting was announced to local media outlets through an email from the council clerk’s office.
Meier and Zader were openly critical Tuesday evening of the city administration for not having the zoning regulation legislation ready for council as Mayor Jodie Perry had said when lawmakers met in July.
The mayor, who participated in Tuesday’s meeting via Zoom, said last week the proposal was not ready for the Aug. 6 meeting.
“We do have an outside law firm reviewing the drafted language. It’s just not going to be done in time for Tuesday,” Perry said. “I do plan to try to share it in advance before the next (meeting on Aug. 20.)”
Perry told lawmakers July 16 she hoped to have those regulations to them for their review in advance of the Aug. 6 meeting as recreational cannabis dispensaries began to open around the state after the passage of State Issue 2 last November — and months of regulatory maneuvering and permit-seeking.
“It’s my opinion every day we wait we are losing money,” Meier said Wednesday morning after the meeting was announced. “We already have dispensary locations around the state selling recreational cannabis.”
The Columbus Dispatch reported Tuesday 98 marijuana dispensaries received licenses to begin selling recreational cannabis, which marked the first day Ohio residents 21 and older could legally purchase the plant for such purposes.
She said one of the dispensaries that opened in Cincinnati on Tuesday recorded $100,000 in sales in its first day.
According to the issue approved by voters, cities with a dispensary receive 36 percent of the 10 percent excise tax imposed by the state on the businesses.
“We are going to lose the cream of the crop (in terms of licensed dispensary companies) the longer we postpone this,” she said. “We at least want to get these regulations out there and discuss them.”
She said having the meeting on Monday will allow Mayor Jodie Perry to return to town and review the legislation with her team.
“There is no plan (Monday) to vote on the (zoning regulations.) If it happens, it happens,” Meier said.
Meier said Tuesday evening it was “totally unacceptable” that the administration didn’t have the ordinance ready for consideration.
“I’m just very disappointed that we don’t have anything to at least look at,” she said.
The zoning regulations are needed because City Council voted 5-3 on June 19 against a six-month moratorium on local dispensaries, opening the door for businesses seeking to gain state licenses to operate in Mansfield.
