Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry said she expects to know more about marijuana dispensaries coming to the city early in the new year.
“It’s at the state level,” she said Monday while heading out on holiday. “The dispensaries are working to get their licenses. Until they get their licenses, there’s not much we can do.”
Perry said several dispensaries have applied for zoning within the city of Mansfield.
“The state doesn’t expect anything until the first quarter,” she said. “It doesn’t surprise me that it’s been quiet, but I think it will pick up soon.”
The ongoing debate as to whether marijuana dispensaries should come to Mansfield was the No. 7 story of the year for the News Journal.
In November 2023, Ohio became the 24th state to legalize adult-use cannabis, with 57% of voters saying “yes” to Issue 2.
Mansfield City Council debated the issue of dispensaries for months. In August, a twist in the process opened the door for recreational dispensaries to come to the city while meeting current retail zoning regulations, making it easier for businesses to find locations.
“Because we don’t have any additional zoning in place, they (recreational marijuana dispensaries) are going to be able to come in and operate within our current zoning,” Perry said after a special August council meeting. “We’re going to be open for business, essentially.”
The special meeting was called to talk about remaining issues after receiving proposed zoning regulations.
“We basically took a step back, had the outside counsel and our law office take a look at our codified ordinances, as well as the rules, and basically concluded we have not met all the guidelines for public hearings for zoning,” Perry said at the meeting. “It was not done intentionally. We were operating on a different assumption.”
At that meeting, council voted 4-3 to require dispensaries to be standalone facilities.
Mansfield City Council voted to limit number of dispensaries to 3
Council met again that same week in August and voted to repeal prohibitions on medical marijuana, and to limit the number of dispensaries that could come to the city to three.
Members El Akuchie and Deborah Mount were the dissenting votes on repealing prohibitions regarding medical marijuana. They have been outspoken against any dispensaries coming to Mansfield.
“My vote is to keep this stop sign in place,” said Akuchie, who is a pastor, at the meeting. “I will not roll out the red carpet for the cannabis industries. If I do that, I will be violating my own conscience. I know I will give an account to God one day.”
Councilwoman Stephanie Zader, who resigned on Sept. 30, said Akuchie was missing the point.
“We’re not voting on our own morality, we’re not voting on our religious beliefs,” she said.
Mayor would have supported 6-month moratorium
In June, council voted 5-3 not to impose a six-month moratorium on marijuana dispensaries.
Perry said at the time she had hoped that council would impose a six-month moratorium.
“I would have liked to have our own zoning in place,” the mayor said.
Council members heard from people representing dispensaries that want to come to Mansfield.
Amanda Ostrowitz, a managing partner for SLAP Consulting, advocates for the Cannabis Company, which is hoping to open a dual dispensary (medical and recreational) in town.
She told council that Mansfield offers the market, population and workforce.
“The main thing that is attractive is there’s a large population, and it’s completely unserved with dispensaries. It’s a demand that’s unmet,” she said in June.
Ostrowitz said a dispensary could generate between $700,000 and $1 million per month in gross revenues. She added the city could see $4.3 million in new tax revenues in the next decade.
Angelo Gallo, a 1997 Mansfield Senior High School graduate, is the CEO and chairman of Manx Farms Inc. in California.
He also would like to open a dispensary in the city.
“Our starting wage is 20% over the living wage in any community where we open,” Gallo told the News Journal in June. He added that wage would be in the range of $54,000 to $58,000.
State regulations would be in place for any marijuana dispensaries that might open in Mansfield. Those include being at least a mile apart and 500 feet away from schools, parks and libraries.
H/T: www.yahoo.com