Resolution pauses cannabis applications
City Council votes 8-1 to pass moratorium that could be extended
The Annapolis City Council passed a resolution Monday that places a moratorium on consideration of applications for nonmedical cannabis businesses in the city.
The resolution, sponsored by Alderwoman Elly Tierney, a Democrat from Ward 1, is meant to avoid “reactive legislation,” pointing to the short-term rental license law that was passed four years ago in response to the rise in unregulated Airbnbs in the city.
“Due to lessons learned from [short-term rental licenses], we do not want reactive legislation,” she said at the end of February when the resolution was introduced. “We need to get ahead of it and ensure we are following state guidelines.”
The moratorium allows the council to study and establish regulations that “enact reasonable, thoughtful, and lawful zoning requirements and other regulations … to protect the public health, safety, and welfare,” according to the resolution.
In July 2022, the Annapolis City Council voted to allow medical cannabis dispensaries within city limits. The legislation allows the dispensaries in commercial zones, Alderman DaJuan Gay, a Democrat from Ward 6, said last month. The ordinance was approved a year before Maryland joined 23 other states in legalizing the sale of recreational cannabis.
Currently, the Maryland General Assembly is considering legislation that could prohibit local governments from making zoning requirements for dispensaries that are more strict than those for other entities such as retail alcohol licenses. The legislation, sponsored by Del. C.T. Wilson, a Democrat from Charles County and Sen. Brian Feldman, a Montgomery County Democrat, would require a political jurisdiction to establish “reasonable zoning requirements for cannabis businesses.” It also would prohibit a political jurisdiction from creating “zoning or other requirements that unduly burden a cannabis license,” according to the legislation.
The moratorium will last nine months, but the resolution allows the council to extend it if needed.
The resolution passed 8-1. Gay was the only council member to oppose the resolution, calling it “incredibly overreaching” of what is currently being discussed in the State House.
“What this legislation is doing is attempting to undermine that and it’s also attempting to undermine our economic growth by limiting the number of dispensaries that can be allowed in the city of Annapolis,” he said.
“Why put a moratorium together on consideration of applications when we don’t know what the state is going to propose?” Gay added. “We should wait until the state puts out specific language as it relates to this process and then come back and put together a moratorium or certain policy regulations that [are] based on the consideration from the planning director.”
Planning and Zoning Director Chris Jakubiak requested that Tierney sponsor a moratorium at the end of January “to study the issue and adopt zoning amendments to address use and potential impacts,” he said.
“Please don’t misunderstand this legislation. We should be very receptive to any sort of cannabis industry, whether it’s an entrepreneur or someone coming in. But we can’t write code yet until
we know what the state is doing,” Tierney said. “In discussion with the director of planning and zoning, it’s just a temporary timeout so that we can evaluate the state’s legislation from their discussions. We don’t want applications to come in and then react to them incorrectly.”
The state is responsible for licensing cannabis businesses. As of the end of February, no applications were being considered for cannabis building or occupancy permits through the Department of Planning and Zoning.