By State Deadline Drives Local Action
Loudoun County and its towns are rushing to adopt zoning ordinances regulating cannabis sales before recreational marijuana retail becomes legal in Virginia as soon as July 1. Changes made by the General Assembly this year permit the sales, and state law requires local governments to enact ordinances before that date.
The Cannabis Control Act establishes a licensing and regulatory system for nine types of cannabis businesses. It gives the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority oversight of possession, sale, transportation, distribution, and delivery of marijuana and marijuana products, and the authority is the primary agency responsible for enforcing state cannabis laws.
The General Assembly has authorized only 350 retail cannabis licenses statewide. Local governments cannot prohibit uses permitted in state laws, but they may regulate location, hours of operation, and separation from other uses.
The Cannabis Control Authority is set to begin accepting license applications on Feb. That leaves just a few more months for localities to adopt their regulations.
Loudoun’s remaining towns are expected to implement standards in line with those recommended by the Virginia Municipal League.
County Recommendations Take Shape
At the county level, the Board of Supervisors’ Zoning Ordinance Committee is wrapping up work on its recommendations for marijuana regulations. A review by the Planning Commission is slated for Nov.
Under those recommendations, marijuana cultivation would be permitted with special exception approval in several agricultural and industrial districts. Processing facilities would be permitted by right in commercial and some industrial districts, and with a special exception permit in the Planned Development Commercial Center and Planned Development Mixed Use Business districts.
Microbusinesses would require special exceptions in agricultural, industrial, and business districts. Retail and testing facilities would be permitted by-right in most commercial and business districts.
Hours of operation would be limited to between 9 a.m. Cannabis businesses would be required to set back at least 1,000 feet from hospitals, schools, or childcare programs.
Retail stores would be limited to 2,500 square feet of floor space. Drive-thru windows and vending machines would be prohibited at dispensing facilities, and indoor cultivation and processing facilities could not have outdoor storage or activity or produce adverse noise, odor, heat, glare, or vibration impacts notable at the property line.
Towns Move At Different Paces
The Leesburg Planning Commission is holding a work session to begin drafting regulations, starting with which zoning districts should permit cannabis activities. Once drafted, the regulations are expected to be incorporated into the town’s new Zoning Ordinance before its adoption later this year.
In Lovettsville, the town’s Planning Commission is nearing the end of its work outlining regulations. Its draft ordinance would require all marijuana establishments to receive a conditional use permit from the town.
The Lovettsville draft would limit marijuana establishments to the C-2, CRA-1, CA-1, and CI-1 districts. It would require a 1,000-foot buffer around local schools and daycares and a 500-foot minimum distance between a marijuana store and residential zoning districts.
