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Microbusinesses and mezzobusinesses are the two unique use names within cannabis. These uses <br />can be compared to something like a small winery or brewery; however, on -site consumption is <br />only allowed for microbusinesses that have approval from the OCM. Microbusinesses and <br />mezzobusinesses are allowed to cultivate, manufacture/process, package, and sell with their <br />license. Businesses licensed as microbusinesses or mezzobusinesses can operate multiple locations <br />and the cultivation and manufacturing part of the license can be located separately from the retail <br />location. As such, the uses may have multiple parts of a singular building that make up a single <br />structure such as a warehouse facility, a greenhouse, and a retail store, or may be split up amongst <br />multiple parcels. <br />Registration v. Licensing <br />The OCM will issue and manage licenses for cannabis businesses. Retail operations for cannabis <br />must register with local units of government before making retail sales to customers or patients. <br />Currently, local government units are required to allow for one registration for every 12,500 <br />residents. The statute specifies these registrants as cannabis retailers, cannabis mezzobusinesses <br />with a retail operations endorsement, and cannabis microbusinesses with a retail operations <br />endorsement. This minimum of one applies only to cannabis retailer registration. It is currently <br />unclear if the City will be able to limit non -retailer uses to any capacity, however, staff believes <br />uses that are not required to register cannot be prohibited. <br />Local Control <br />The first draft of rules from the OCM addresses many of the operational challenges related to <br />cannabis such as security, testing, and tracking product through commercial businesses. There are <br />gaps left by the OCM's first draft that need to be addressed by local municipalities such as <br />setbacks, odor control, screening, and nuisances. The OCM is still in the process of developing the <br />final rules, so the below zoning standards are presented as a draft of what zoning regulations <br />regarding cannabis uses may look like. Staff will continue to monitor the activity of OCM to ensure <br />that the adopted standards work with the final rules from OCM. <br />The City Council reviewed the draft ordinance included within the Local Guide from the OCM at <br />their September 23, 2024, meeting and a first draft of the zoning standards at their October 14, <br />2024, meeting and gave direction for the standards. Changes from the work session include a new <br />use for cannabis testing facilities, limiting cannabis retail uses to the B-4 zoning district, limiting <br />cultivation, manufacturing, and wholesaling to the GB zoning district, and limiting hours of sale <br />of cannabinoids. <br />Overview of Ordinance Amendments <br />The proposed ordinance includes amendments to 1305 Rules, Scope, Interpretation, & <br />Definitions, subsection 1325.04 Definitions. Many of the definitions reference Minnesota Statute <br />in order to make sure that definitions in the code remain current if statute changes. <br />The proposed ordinance includes amendments to Section 1320 — District Provisions, subsection <br />1320.05 Land Use Chart. Allowed districts were amended by the Planning Commission to <br />include mezzobusiness and microbusiness, as a conditional use in the B-3 and GB zoning <br />districts and "Retail, Cannabis Sales" as a conditional use in the B-3 district and a conditional <br />Page 3 of 6 <br />