OTTER TAIL COUNTY
— The Otter Tail County board approved its cannabis ordinance on March 25, regulating retail and grow operations in the county. The ordinance goes into effect April 1.

The county ordinance makes concessions for cities and townships that have their own cannabis ordinances.

After the Tuesday, March 25 board meeting, County Administrator Nicole Hansen confirmed in an email that the county’s ordinance “doesn’t apply to cities and townships that adopt their own ordinance.”

As the
county’s cannabis draft ordinance
made its rounds in 2024, some
Perham Council members expressed concerns
about regulations in the county ordinance, specifically relating to the distance such a business must be from various public spaces. The
Perham City Council approved its cannabis ordinance
in November 2024.

Commissioner Dan Bucholz was the sole commissioner to oppose adopting the ordinance on Tuesday. The county representative that serves Perham was contacted by phone after the meeting and asked why he opposed.

Bucholz explained that the state has yet to provide guidance to counties. He would’ve preferred to act on a resolution after that information was received to prevent having to update or change the county ordinance.

At the commissioner meeting, Hansen noted there have been delays at the state Cannabis Management Office in approving licenses due to various reasons.

“While there is some legislation that is being considered in different bills, the information that I have about those bills is that it will not impact the ordinance that we have as drafted,” Hansen said.

She added that as new information comes in, it is being provided to cities and townships that have ordinances in place regarding cannabis sales and production. As for locations in the county without an ordinance, they would fall under the county’s regulations.

She anticipates that by the end of May or early June, more information on license applications will be provided to local governments. Hansen noted the state makes the determination of who will get the license, but the county could limit the number of licenses.

The county ordinance notes it shall allow five such businesses in the county. It was noted that the word “shall” plays an important part, as that is the minimum amount, meaning more could be approved.

The state’s Office of Cannabis Management was contacted to see how many applications were submitted in Otter Tail County.

“We don’t have business applications broken out by county/region at this time,” said Cannabis Management Public Information Officer Jim Walker. “Our licensing teams are going over each of the applications now.”

Commissioner Wayne Johnson emphasized that the county was not out to put a constraint on business growth or opportunities with the cannabis ordinance but to give the county “guardrails.”

“We’re just trying to get out in front of it so that we have some level of control over the distribution and the places and those kinds of things,” Johnson said.