Falls City Council Chair John Spanbauer said he could never have imagined that one of his final votes as a council member would be to enact a city ordinance governing the location and hours of operation for stores to sell pot.
“If you had told me when I joined the council that my last vote would be for this,” he said laughing, “I would have never believed it. But this is where our state is.”
Spanbauer, who is resigning his council seat effective Dec. 22, provide the final and unanimous vote for the new cannabis ordinance, which codifies rules and regulations recently released by the state’s Office of Cannabis Management.
“The Office of Cannabis Management has just put forth regulations for the licensing of cannabis operations,” City Corporation Counsel Christopher Mazur told the council members. “It’s important to put this forth right away because this will be a major issue in 2023.”
Council Member Donta Myles said he hoped that “black and brown people” who have been “disproportionately impacted” by the prior criminalization of marijuana sales would be allowed opportunities to now be legally licensed. But Mayor Robert Restaino said a recent conversation with director of the Office of Cannabis Management made clear that local municipalities will only be able to adopt the rules and regulations put forward by the state.
“Local municipalities will not have a great say in this,” the mayor said.
Under the new ordinance, cannabis dispensaries, that engage in sales only, can operate between the hours of 8 a.m. and 2 a.m. and may not operate for more than 70 hours a week. Dispensaries that allow on-site consumption may operate from 8 a.m. to 4 a.m.
Retail dispensaries may not be located within 500 feet of a “community facility” and on-site consumption dispensaries can not be located within 1,000 feet of similar operations, within 500 feet of a school, within 200 feet of a house of worship or 500 feet of a “community facility.”
Dispensaries are also subject to yearly inspections by the city’s Department of Code Enforcement.
The new cannabis ordinance takes effect immediately.
The council also approved proposed zoning code changes to govern the “use, cultivation, production and sale of recreational cannabis.” Those proposed changes will be submitted to both the Falls and Niagara County Planning Boards for their consideration.
