Thanks to Southview Animal Hospital and Minnesota Locks for their support.
West St. Paul City Council approved intoxicating THC licensing and zoning ordinances, as well as several tweaks to zoning, stormwater, and an equitable tweak to this year’s mill and overlay assessments.
Intoxicating THC Ordinances
City Council approved new intoxicating THC licensing and zoning ordinances. The rules are in line with what’s currently being considered at the state legislature. Council had previously settled on a 1,000-foot buffer from schools and codified a definition of schools. That distance buffer will eliminate two businesses that applied for a specialty license, the North 40 Tavern and Lafayette Tobacco.
Council did opt to drop a measure that would not allow liquor stores to sell THC products. It’s likely state law will include this anyway, and if they don’t, Council Member John Justen argued that liquor stores are already set up for the age verification THC products require.
The licensing rules will come up for a public hearing on March 13.
Other Items on the Agenda:
- Road work: During the Open Council Work Session (OCWS), Council discussed this year’s mill and overlay projects (more on how road maintenance works). Council agreed with staff to move the assessment hearings from October to April, which gives residents more time to pay the assessment without interest. They also opted to assess projects separately, breaking the project into a north and south area based on lot sizes. The net impact is amore equitable breakdown of assessment costs.
- Zoning changes: Two measures were approved to change zoning on various parcels to better match planning documents, zoning, and the current reality.
- Stormwater tweaks: A series of changes were approved to move stormwater regulations from zoning to ordinances, cleaning up some language, and tightening restrictions (though still far less stringent than Inver Grove Heights or Mendota Heights).
- Net Ministries: The occupancy exemption extension for Net Ministries was approved in a final reading.
- Legal overview: New City Attorney Pam Whitmore gave an overview of standard legal practices during the OCWS, including Open Meeting Law, public records, and more.
- Women’s History: The Council recognized March as Women’s History Month.
You can watch the City Council and OCWS meetings online. You can also watch the video recap with Council Members Robyn Gulley and Pat Armon.
Learn more about how city council works with our Guide to West St. Paul City Council.
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