Fairbanks – The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly put a three-month moratorium on cannabis cafes in the unincorporated borough Thursday.
The move came as a new ordinance was introduced that laid out zoning rules for cannabis cafes boroughwide.
Under the proposed new zoning rules, neighbors would be notified, a public hearing would take place and the Planning Commission would vote before a cannabis cafe could open.
Cannabis cafes are allowed as an attachment to retail pot stores under regulations proposed by the Alaska Marijuana Control Board.
The assembly put the hold on pot cafes as the state regulations are ironed out.
I feel like we are operating in a vacuum right now, said Matt Cooper, the assemblyman who proposed the moratorium. We dont know what the final regulations are going to look like.
The moratorium only applies outside of the cities of Fairbanks and North Pole, which have their own marijuana regulatory powers.
The vote on the moratorium happened in an amendment to an ordinance to ban on-site marijuana consumption facilities.
In the end, the assembly approved the moratorium, 5-3, with members Christopher Quist, Van Lawrence and Janice Westlind voting no.
Gov. Bill Walker, who dropped by the assembly meeting and spoke about the state budget deficit, declined to weigh in on the cannabis cafe debate.
I have not taken a position on any of that, Walker said during
an interview.
He said the statewide ballot measure approved by the voters in 2014 allowed communities to make their own decisions about the marijuana industry.
The assembly heard public testimony on the proposed ban on marijuana cafes last month.
Most of the comments favored them as safe alternatives to bars, good for tourism and on par with the options afforded the alcohol industry.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Hold Put On Cannabis Cafes Outside Of City
Author: Amanda Bohman
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