Zoning looks to be in place by July 1
The Henderson-Henderson County Joint Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of a zoning ordinance which would allow medical cannabis facilities to locate within city limits.
Now, the Henderson City Commission will hear the first reading of the ordinance at Tuesday’s regular meeting. A second reading is scheduled to follow two weeks later at the city commission’s June 25 regular meeting. If approved then, the ordinance would go into effect on July 1, said City Attorney Dawn Kelsey.
That’s important because 2023 General Assembly legislation made medical cannabis available starting Jan. 1, 2025, for patients who have a qualifying diagnosis and have a medical cannabis card.
But more recent legislation—HB 829, passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Andy Beshear on April 17—provided that licensing for businesses can begin on July 1, allowing businesses to get started so that it would have approved cannabis products available for people with cannabis cards by January.
After city commissioners indicated their desire to allow medical cannabis businesses within the city, Kelsey said city officials wanted a zoning ordinance in place saying exactly where medical cannabis businesses can locate before those businesses invested in a location.
And also, where they can’t locate. Namely, 1,000 feet from a school. State legislation says that a dispensary can’t be located within 1,000 feet of any school that receives Kentucky Department of Education funding. The proposed city zoning ordinance, however, goes a step farther, not allowing a dispensary within 1,000 feet of any school, whether it receives KDE funding or not.
Dispensaries, where cannabis products are sold, were a main point of Kelsey’s presentation Tuesday to the joint planning commission. With the 1,000-foot school buffer plus the proposed highway commercial zoning, most available locations are on the U.S. 41-Strip and South Green Street.
According to data compiled by joint planning commission staff, there are 58 addresses on South Green Street—roughly from the Goodwill Store to Jimmy Z auto body shop—where a dispensary could locate. On US 41-Strip, there are 138 addresses, from the old Old Orchard movie theater to the Twin Bridges.
Various other eligible locations dot the city map, many on Ky. 2084 and Barret Boulevard.
Another provision of the ordinance is that a dispensary can’t be located within one mile of another dispensary, so after a first dispensary moves into a location, the options for a second are greatly reduced. For example, if a dispensary were to move into an address on the U.S. 41-Strip, a second dispensary would not be able to move into a space on the Strip.
More than one dispensary in town, however, won’t happen soon because the total number of dispensaries allowed in one county is one, according to HB 829. That could change in future legislation, though, Kelsey said.
Additionally, HB 829 designated 11 regions statewide, and in each region four total dispensaries can be located. Henderson is a part of the Green River Region, which also includes Daviess, Hancock, Ohio, McLean, Union and Webster counties. If the number of municipalities in a region wanting a dispensary is more than four, a lottery will occur to designate where the four will be located, said Kelsey.
The proposed zoning ordinance also involves the other businesses of medical cannabis. Those include cultivators, where cannabis is grown; processors, where the cannabis is turned into an approved form of medical cannabis (by state law, medical cannabis can’t be smoked); and producers, where medical cannabis is both grown and produced.
Zoning for cultivators, processors and producers is proposed as both light industrial and heavy industrial. An agriculture zoning for cultivators is also part of the proposed zoning ordinance.
Kelsey has said that her office continues to receive numerous calls from interested medical cannabis businesses about locating in Henderson.