Borough May Postpone Marijuana Legislation Deadline

logo-w-sunburstKayla Desroches/KMXT

The Kodiak Island Borough may push back its marijuana legislation deadline to give the district more time to figure out zoning issues: For instance, whether or not cultivation should be allowed within residential districts.

That, along with the city’s marijuana legislation, is one big topic on the agenda of the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly and Kodiak City Council joint work session Wednesday.

Borough Mayor Dan Rohrer, who sat on the borough Marijuana Task Force, says the advisory group wrapped up its process in December and forwarded its recommendations onto the assembly. From there, it headed to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Rohrer says commercial sales will not be allowed within residential districts, but P & Z will be considering whether or not cultivation and testing should be permitted in those same residential areas.

“With what’s currently sent forward, and I’m not going to remember all of it exactly off the top of my head, but there did allow for a limited marijuana grow with a conditional use permit inside the residential neighborhoods, and that was extremely controversial at the committee level and I assume will probably continue to be controversial, and ultimately when it comes back to the assembly,  don’t actually know how they’ll vote on that.”

Matters that come before P & Z go through an often lengthy process of work sessions and public hearings, and Rohrer says at the meeting they will consider looking at an updated deadline of April or May.

The City of Kodiak also has a marijuana advisory committee. It had six months to give its recommendations to the City of Kodiak, but has declared it needs more time. It stopped working right before the deadline and, due to the holidays, hasn’t been able to reconvene since. City councilwoman Laura Arboleda, who co-chairs the committee, says they’ll plan that meeting for a date in the near future.

The Kodiak City Council and Kodiak Island Borough Assembly will gather for their joint work session in the library on Wednesday, starting at 7:30 p.m.

 

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