A legal, but non-conforming, farm in the City of Wyoming was denied permission to let a third party lease land to grow a cannabis crop. The Wyoming city council last week did not approve an interim use permit to a cannabis cultivation enterprise.
Council was advised that the farm was made a residential zone in the 1990s— although the owners, David and Kelly Wosika, said they thought the parcel is zoned agricultural. There was no specific documentation presented, and decisions were based on the site having changed to residential from ag.
City Attorney Tom Loonan said if council approves this use (cannabis cultivation) on residential property it could open the doors for future requests relying on prior zoning. "Potential implications" are unwanted, he added.
The Wosikas argue cannabis is a crop and this is just an "expansion" of the farm uses grandfathered in under the previous ag definition. David said there's haying and other farm activities on-going. However, cannabis is not classified as a "crop" in Minnesota, and back when the property was officially agricultural by definition, cannabis was prohibited from being grown. If the permit were to be approved it would have to be based on conditions in effect at the time the land was ag.
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