CLOQUET — The Cloquet City Council was split Tuesday on where cannabis can be sold in the city, narrowly voting to allow cannabis dispensaries to operate only in the business district on Minnesota Highway 33.
After failing to pass two resolutions that would have allowed cannabis to be sold in more areas of the city, the council voted 5-2 to confine the sale of cannabis to the regional commercial district along Highway 33; councilors Kerry Kolodge and Lyz Jaakola were opposed. That’s even more restrictive than the proposal the council deadlocked over at its last meeting.
“We have a starting point and recognizing that we can revisit the parameters at any time, I would anticipate down the road,” Councilor Lara Wilkinson said.
The zoning ordinance was passed with urgency because the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management license lottery
The lottery could grant licensure to cannabis businesses hoping to operate in Cloquet. But, before it can do so, the Office of Cannabis Management requires businesses to receive a local government’s certification of zoning compliance after being vetted.
The ordinance divides cannabis businesses into three categories:
- Cannabis retail business, which sells cannabis and other products.
- Non-retail cannabis business — a facility for cannabis production or distribution.
- Lower-potency hemp retail business, which includes edibles and beverages.
The ordinance will allow for non-retail cannabis businesses to operate in areas zoned for industrial uses and lower-potency hemp to be sold across the city. Where cannabis retail businesses can operate drew most of the concern from council members.
The initial proposed ordinance would have allowed cannabis retail businesses to operate in downtown Cloquet and along Highway 33; however, it failed with councilors Iris Keller, Kolodge, Jaakola and Wilkinson voting against it.
Iris Keller, who represents downtown Cloquet, was concerned about allowing dispensaries to operate in one of the city’s most populated areas, even if it is downtown.
“We can’t have it next to residential areas, and yet, the city center is one of the most populated residential areas in the city,” she said.
Jaakola proposed a second resolution that would have allowed retail cannabis shops to operate in the West End business district, which has struggled in recent years to attract businesses, but that, too, failed to pass, with Mayor Roger Maki and councilors Chris Swanson, Sheila Lamb and Kolodge opposed.
City Administrator Tim Peterson urged the council to pass something just to get the ordinance on the books before the Office of Cannabis Management begins approving licenses and to amend it later.
“A tweak here and there is certainly something that I think that most of us can live with,” Peterson said.
Swanson agreed with Peterson.
“As we go, we can, I was going to say grow that, but that may not be the right metaphor,” he said.
Peterson said approving the ordinance is one of multiple decisions the council must address as the city prepares for legal cannabis sales. He noted that by the council’s next meeting, the council will likely have to address licensing, buffer zones from where cannabis shops can operate and background checks.
The city plans to follow Carlton County’s cannabis consumption ordinance, which the
county board passed late last year
and prohibits consumption in public spaces.
Macklin Caruso is a reporter for the Cloquet Pine Journal. You can reach him at mcaruso@pinejournal.com or 218-461-8278.
