New Philadelphia council votes to ban recreational marijuana dispensaries in the city
NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ City council has voted to ban recreational marijuana facilities from locating within the city of New Philadelphia.
"I think part of this is the message that we want to give to our youth and the people that live here and the businesses that we want to attract here," Councilwoman Cheryl Ramos said, speaking in favor of the ban.
"The big thing is our message. This is a family-friendly community. So, we want to remain that way."
Council approved the ordinance by a 6-1 vote on its first reading. Councilman Dan Lanzer cast the sole no vote, saying he objected to the fact that he was not given 72 hours' notice of the Zoning & Annexation Committee meeting on Monday, where the issue was first discussed.
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New Philadelphia council took action in 2016 to outlaw medical marijuana cultivators, processors and retail dispensaries from being operated anywhere in the city. However, a dispensary operates on West High Avenue on an island of Goshen Township property surrounded by land within the city.
Last year, Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment, Issue 2, legalizing recreational marijuana, but it includes a provision that allows cities to regulate the sale of medical and recreational marijuana within their corporate limits.
'A terrible place for it'
At the Zoning & Annexation Committee meeting prior to council, Law Director Marvin Fete said, "It's really up to council what you want to do about it. I guess the issue you're confronted with is do you want a recreational marijuana facility going in right in our downtown and the potential elements that it could bring with it. I think that would be a terrible place for it, personally, not just because the message that it sends but also because of the close proximity to our new homeless shelter that's going in."
The Friends of the Homeless of Tuscarawas County plans on building a new shelter behind the current shelter building at 211 E. High Ave. in New Philadelphia.
Fete said some residents of the shelter deal with drug addiction, and it would send a terrible message to them.
He noted, though, that recreational marijuana dispensaries are very lucrative businesses. "The issue is, are those going to be good-paying jobs that we could collect taxes on that would benefit the city, and does getting taxes outweigh the negative connotation that comes from having a recreational marijuana facility that sells recreational marijuana right in the heart of your downtown?"
Mayor Joel Day spoke in favor of the measure. "Just like we did with the medical dispensaries, we've got to stay out ahead of this. It's being proactive."
Service Director Ron McAbier added that the city's zoning and building code administrator, Josh Mathias, has been approached by someone about starting a recreational marijuana dispensary.
Because of passage of Issue 2, the city cannot prohibit people from growing small amounts of marijuana on their property or possessing it, Fete said.
Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: New Philadelphia votes to ban recreational marijuana dispensaries
