Denver lawmakers tentatively approved a proposed ordinance to impose caps on the number of marijuana retail and cultivation sites in the proverbial capital of the cannabis industry.
The measure, approved Monday evening 8-3 by the Denver City Council, will become law if approved in a final vote next week. It would apply to recreational and medical businesses.
The vote came after lawmakers failed to reach agreement last week.
The proposed ordinance is intended to replace a temporary moratorium on medical and recreational businesses the city had imposed. That moratorium is set to expire May 1.
Like the temporary moratorium, the permanent measure would ban new medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation centers.
The legislation also would require cannabis business license applicants to put together “good neighbor” plans spelling out how they would perform community outreach if problems surface after a business opens its doors.
License applications pending before the caps are imposed would still be processed under existing rules.
