A St. Paul proposal would allow cannabis businesses throughout the city's commercial corridors, though retailers would be prohibited within 300 feet of a school.
Cities across Minnesota are mulling where to allow dispensaries and other businesses before the state's legal marijuana market launch next year. St. Paul planners were among the first to release their official pitch for how to integrate the 16 types of cannabis licenses created by the state into city zoning code.
The state allows cities to ban cannabis businesses within 1,000 feet of a school and 500 feet of daycares, residential treatment facilities, and parks. But in St. Paul, those maximum distance requirements would restrict cannabis businesses in more than half of the city's retail parcels, according to city planners.
"We wanted to create an environment where these businesses could be established but also have some protections in the zoning," senior planner Tony Johnson said in a presentation to the Planning Commission last week.
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