DOUGLAS COUNTY
— By a vote of 3-2, the cannabis retails sales, events and public use ordinance was approved by Douglas County commissioners at their Tuesday, April 1, regular board meeting.

Voting against the ordinance were commissioners Jerry Rapp and Jeff Way. Commissioners Tim Kalina, Charlie Meyer and Shane Schmidt voted for it.

The vote came after a public hearing when Dave Rush, the county’s Land and Resource Management director, shared information about the ordinance. There were no public comments, but there was a lengthy discussion with the commissioners.

Rush explained that the state passed statutes that legalizes adult recreational use of cannabis and that in those statutes, it provides local units of government, like the county board, to determine how cannabis can be sold and used within local jurisdictions.

“The purpose here is that our goal at the county is to protect and promote the health, safety and welfare of the citizens and visitors to our county,” said Rush, adding that there are some items in the county’s ordinance that are not found in the state statutes.

Some of those items relate to non-ingestible hemp derived products as well as how the county defines an educational institution. He also said the county is being more restrictive than the state. For example, Rush said the county would require a 500-foot setback from places of religious worship for a cannabis business.

Another item that’s different is having a special event ordinance relating to cannabis. Any event where cannabis might be permitted by the state would have to comply with the special event section of the county’s cannabis ordinance. The purpose of having a special event ordinance is that it would allow the county to have some controls over them for public health and safety or other safety concerns, said Rush.

Commissioner Way asked Rush about the setbacks and if they were set in stone. Rush said the required setbacks in the county ordinance are based on the maximum setback distance allowed by the state statute. He also mentioned again that the state statute doesn’t include setbacks for religious organizations but that the county’s ordinance does.

“We’re taking a stand with that because we think that it’s important and we believe we can justify it,” Rush said.

Way’s issue is that the setbacks for religious organizations as well as daycares is only 500 feet, whereas the setback for educational institutions is 1,000 feet. He said both churches and daycares involve children and should be treated the same as schools or other educational institutions.

“Anything that involves children should be a little more strict,” said Way.

Rush said that if places of worship met the definition for an educational institution, then by all means the 1,000-foot setback would be applicable. But he said the county is limited to what the state allows. He also told Way, and the other commissioners, that the county could have some additional controls through the zoning ordinance.

After the motion was made by Kalina and seconded by Schmidt, Rapp shared his concerns. He asked if the county could be sued if something were to happen because the county would have its own ordinance. He said that if any lawsuits would happen, the county should not bear the burden because the rules regarding cannabis have way too many loose ends. He wanted to add an amendment to the original motion stating the county would not be liable.

“I don’t have the appetite to approve this without this attachment to the motion,” Rapp said. “If that can be added, I will vote for it. Otherwise, I won’t.”

Rapp also said his problem is that the county is making rules for a product that is not legalized by federal laws.

“We are doing things, regulations of something that is still federally illegal and I do not understand how we can do that,” Rapp said.

Meyer told Rapp that he doesn’t disagree with him, but the problem is that the state has legalized it and that if the county doesn’t do something, it loses its privileges of being able to have local control. He said the purpose of the ordinance is so that the county has control.

“I don’t disagree, but if we don’t do this…I’m just really sick and tired of having those in St. Paul tell us what we have to do every time in our backyard,” Meyer said.

After more discussion, the vote was finally called and the ordinance was approved. To view the ordinance, read this story on the Echo Press website.

Rush asked the commissioners if they wanted him to move forward with the special event ordinance and Meyer said he would make the motion for Rush to do that. Kalina seconded it. The motion passed by a vote of 3-2 with Way and Rapp voting no.

Afterward, Rush went over the details of the amendment to the zoning ordinance as it relates to cannabis businesses. The amendment can be found in the online version of this story. The motion to amend the zoning ordinance was approved unanimously by the commissioners.

The entire county board meeting is available to view on the county’s YouTube channel –
youtube.com/@DouglasCountyMN-CountyBoard/streams
.

The Douglas County commissioners approved the following other actions at their Tuesday meeting:

• Conditional use permit to Prouty Properties LLC to allow a 43-unit campground (commercial planned unit development).
• Conditional use permit to Thesing and Thesing LLP to amend a special use permit to allow the additional use of retail sales of sporting goods related to shooting sports, hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation, including the sales, service and assembly of firearms and firearm accessories and firearm training.
• Preliminary plat of Chainview Estates, which would consist of 51 residential lots and two outlots on just over 90 acres of land in Carlos Township.
• Douglas County’s 2024 Annual Feedlot Report to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
• Resolution sponsoring the Douglas Area Trails Association to once again participate in the Grant in Aid Program for fiscal year 2026.
• Resolution authorizing the grant application for Douglas County Parks and the Big Ole Bike Club to apply for funding through the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund for the
• Lake Brophy County Park Trail Armor and Trail Improvements project. The grant request is for $70,000.
• Resolution reappointing Tim Erickson as the County Highway Engineer.