City to Narrow Down Marijuana Regulations

Kayla Desroches/KMXT

The Kodiak Island Borough already passed its local regulations for the commercial marijuana industry, and it appears that the City of Kodiak is not far behind.

The city council will hold a special work session tonight to look over the city Marijuana Advisory Committee’s final recommendations.

Both the borough and the city established separate advisory groups to guide them in local regulation. The task forces shared multiple members, including Jonathan Strong as medical professional and Janiese Stevens as retail business owner.

The city defers to the borough on zoning requirements. Based on the final recommendations included in its meeting packet, the city may follow the borough in other ways.

The city advisory committee – like the borough task force – has also decided to create a 500-foot buffer zone between school boundaries and the front doors of marijuana establishments.

As far as zoning restrictions go, the advisory committee suggests keeping retail businesses, manufacturing facilities, and testing facilities out of the city’s residential zones. The exception is that cultivation may be permitted conditionally within rural residential lots of 20,000 square feet or greater.

It remains undecided on edibles, which have been controversial because of how easy it may be for children to mistake edibles for regular candy.

The council will meet for its special work session tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the library. The discussion is open to the public.

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