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AN ORDINANCE amending article iv of chapter 12 of the commerce city revised municipal code by the addition of section 12-6012 regulating marijuana cultivation and processing in residential structures
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Summary and Background Information: With the passage of Amendment 64, it became legal for individuals to possess and grow up to six marijuana plants per person. Because the amendment also expressly provides that one individual may “assist” another in this now legal activity, there has been a significant increase in large grow operations occurring in residential areas. This activity has resulted in a number of complaints to the city about the effects that these grows are having on neighborhoods.
In addition to the nuisances home grows can create, there are significant safety concerns with these operations. The use of flammable materials - both to grow the plants and to extract THC from the plants - has caused a number of home explosions in the state and as well as the city.
In order to address these issues, staff prepared an ordinance regulating home grows in residential structures. A proposed ordinance was discussed with City Council at a study session in February. At that meeting, City Council was generally in favor with the ordinance as drafted but did ask staff to look into the possibility of imposing ventilation or air filtration regulations to ensure that children in the home were not adversely affected by marijuana odors. The city’s building official advises that protecting children from the smell of marijuana is more of a policy issue than a safety issue and, therefore, falls outside of the building code requirements. In the absence of a safety issue, staff consulted state regulations and ordinances from other jurisdictions but found no similar provisions. At this point, the staff recommends that such a provision not be included in the ordinance.
Staff Responsible (Department Head): City Attorney Bob Gehler
Staff Member Present...
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