Centerville City Council is scheduled to vote on the proposed measure during its regularly scheduled meeting Monday night.

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In September 2016, Ohio voters passed House Bill 523, which legalized medical marijuana in the state.

In August 2016, Centerville city council approved a moratorium on allowing retail dispensaries, cultivators or processors of medical marijuana. In May 2017, council approved a 1-year extension of that moratorium. That moratorium expired, but medical marijuana was never added to the city’s Unified Development Ordinance, or UDO, as a defined use.

A UDO is a document regulating a community’s land-use, zoning and planning.

In November 2023, Ohio voters approved Issue 2, which legalized adult use cannabis, allowing for the recreational possession and use of marijuana in the state. Issue 2 also included language specifying that cities, villages and townships are allowed to pass laws prohibiting or restricting adult-use cannabis businesses.

Under state law, customers 21 and older can buy up to 2.5 ounces of recreational cannabis at licensed dispensaries or home-grow up to six plants per person, with a maximum of 12 plants for a two-adult household for personal use. Any commercial bans or moratoriums do not affect the ability of those of legal age to possess and use recreational cannabis, by smoking, vaping or edibles, or to grow the plants.

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Also in November 2023, Centerville council approved two nine-month moratoriums on both medical marijuana and adult use cannabis businesses to allow council and staff time to research regulatory options.

In August 2024, council extended the two moratoriums for an additional nine months, with both measures set to expire May 9.

Since Issue Two was approved, many Dayton area cities and townships have enacted prohibitions on adult-use cannabis businesses, including, but not limited to: Kettering, Oakwood, Springboro, Troy, Vandalia, Washington Township and Xenia, Vanness said. Other cities have allowed dispensaries and cultivation businesses.

Since the moratoriums were approved, Centerville staff have presented regulatory options to city council, Vanness said. The options included either adopting zoning regulations through amending the UDO or outright prohibiting the uses as granted through Ohio law.

“Ultimately, Ohio currently lacks examples of supplemental development standards that are specific to medical marijuana and adult use cannabis,” Vanness said. “This presents concerns regarding how to appropriately regulate these uses if they were to be added as either permitted or conditional uses in the UDO.”

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Vanness suggested that Centerville is largely built out and its available commercial land and tenant space is limited — despite ongoing plans at Cornerstone South and other sites.

“To that point, the Dayton region already has several operating dispensaries that Centerville residents can patronize,” Vanness said. “These concerns are compounded by the real possibility that Ohio’s adult use cannabis laws may be amended soon.”

Senate Bill 56 recently received Senate approval that would revise the current laws that were approved under State Issue Two in November 2023.

“This indicates that cannabis laws in Ohio are still in a state of flux due to their infancy,” Vanness said.

Cannabis is still classified as a Schedule One controlled substance under the Federal Controlled Substances Act, he said.

“We want to set a clear direction for our community, as many of our neighbors have done,” Mayor Brooks Compton told the Dayton Daily News. “This decision is about ensuring we have a policy in place that aligns with our long-term vision for Centerville that takes into account public safety, regulation and overall impact on residents.”

If it is approved by council on Monday, the ban would take effect 30 days later.