Shelby City Council bans sales of cannabis
The Shelby City Council, in a decisive move reflecting its commitment to local governance, voted 5-0 on Feb. 20 to pass Ordinance No. 1-2024, imposing a citywide ban on the sale of adult-use cannabis.
The proposed ordinance, set forth in Chapter 858 of the Codified Ordinances of the city of Shelby, was presented as an emergency measure in response to the statewide legalization of cannabis through Issue 2, passed on Nov. 7, 2023.
According to the new Chapter 3780 of the Ohio Revised Code, adults aged 21 and over can legally engage in cannabis-related activities, but local jurisdictions, as per Chapter 3780.25, retain the authority to regulate these activities.”
The Shelby City Council is exercising this power with the introduction of the ordinance prohibiting “adult-use cannabis operators” from conducting business within the city. This action aligns with the council’s previous stance, through Ordinance No. 31-2018, which barred medical marijuana establishments within Shelby limits.
Shelby Councilmen Derrin Roberts and Charles Roub sponsored the latest legislation.
During public comment, presiding Bishop Anthony Cooper of Shelby’s Kingdom Life church spoke in favor of the ordinance banning the sale of adultuse cannabis.
“I represent several pastors in town, as well as many pastors in Richland County,” he told council. “You should have received information, basically, that we sent to you, hopefully, concerning, basically, the economic and social cost of legalized marijuana.”
He cited research from Colorado Christian University.
“They come to find out for every dollar that they make, it costs them $4.50 in revenue to be able to reciprocate, take care of all the problems that comes from this,” Cooper said.
“And so myself, personally, I started looking at this and did research into it,” he added. “I am thankful that we have a mayor and have a city council that are looking out for our city, that’s looking out for our young people, our children. And I encourage you to vote yes and to keep our city safe.”
Prior to the vote, Councilman Nathan Martin asked Shelby law director Gordon Eyster questions about details of the legislation.
“Is the law director satisfied that the prohibitions within the Prohibited Activity section are sufficient to ensure that someone doesn’t have a loophole to come into our community with a dispensary?” Martin asked.
Eyster offered a suggestion on legislative wording but said he needed to be able to cross-reference provisions of Ohio law but that could not happen Tuesday night.
Mr. Martin later said that the council could act at a later date if needed to make an amendment at the recommendation of the law director.
“I guess at the end of the day, we can pass this and we can come back and adjust the definitions as we need to later on,” Martin also said.
Martin also noted that the ordinance says “Each day’s continued violation shall constitute a separate offense.”
He asked Eyster if that is “fairly typical language for this kind of thing?
“Well, this is all new language,” Eyster responded. “There’s nothing typical, but I think when somebody’s trying to operate a business, that’s kind of taken in a different offense each day if they are, in fact, doing this, so we can charge them every day.”
Martin raised the question of “double jeopardy claims on that.”
“I don’t think so,” Mr. Eyster said.
Apart from the cannabis ban, the council session was marked by the approval of several key appointments and resolutions. Mayor Steve Schag put forth multiple nominations, which the council confirmed:
Stacey Gunder and Brian Crum to the Community Reinvestment Area Housing Council, for terms ending on December 31, 2026
Evan Montgomery to the Board of Zoning Appeals for a term ending December 31, 2027
Cody Crose to the position of superintendent of the Electricity and Communications Department. The vote was 4-0 with Councilman Roub abstaining.
Additionally, the council addressed several pieces of legislation, including enactment of Resolution No. 7-2024, authorizing the mayor or director of public service to prepare and submit an application to participate in the Safe Routes to School program through the Ohio Department of Transportation.
The resolution is part of an effort to enhance safety measures and secure funding for educational and infrastructural improvements. Specifically, the city of Shelby, in conjunction with the local school district, is set to revamp its school travel plan, council was told.
Joe Gies, the project coordinator for the city, highlighted the opportunities for federal funding and the positive impact on the community’s schools.
The original plan, first implemented in 2012, is due for a significant update to reflect the consolidation of Shelby’s educational institutions into a single campus of West Smiley Avenue.
“The city can apply in conjunction with the school district to get a school travel plan done,” Gies stated, emphasizing the collaborative effort between the city and the school district to enhance student safety and accessibility.
The revised school travel plan is expected to serve as a blueprint for future funding applications, targeting improvements in infrastructure, educational programs, and school-related activities.
Gies elaborated on the benefits of the plan.
“Once the school travel plan is done, the items that are listed in that school travel plan is what you can apply for, for further funding for implementation,” Gies said.
Reflecting on past successes, Gies mentioned the improvements at the Smiley-gamble Street intersection. While not funded by safe route to school funds, the project benefited from safety funds thanks to its inclusion in the previous travel plan.
“We did accomplish a bunch of other ones during our paving project with signage and so forth, but this is the document that we can use to get further funding,” Gies added.
Council also adopted Resolution No. 5-2024 to accept the gift of an original copy of the “Proposed Charter for Shelby, Ohio” from retired Shelby City Councilman Garland Gates, also a former Shelby mayor.
“I would just like to thank Mr. Garland Gates for giving us this piece of history and ensuring that it’ll be protected amongst the city,” Councilman Eric Cutlip said.
Council also adopted Resolution No. 6-2024, approving weed assessments as issued by the director of public service.
In a separate matter, Gies provided an update on an upcoming downtown demolition project.
“The building at 50-52 and East Main Street, the one that burned, talked to the contractor today,” Gies said Feb. 20. “He’s hoping to get in next week and start that process. He’s actually going to shore up the wall in between the Eagles (lodge) and that building to help protect that building.”
“This won’t be your normal demolition,” Gies said. “There’s going to be a lot of hand work because of how everything is and so forth. Hopefully, by the next meeting, we’ll see some action on that and just our normal stuff.”
Earlier in the evening, the council declined to hold a liquor permit hearing for SAL Acquisition One LLC doing business as Shelby Save A Lot.
“It looks like the ownership of the Save A Lot has changed hands, so this is a transfer regarding that as you can see on the front page here,” Martin said in reviewing documents.