Politics
Delaware Governor Says County’s Move To Loosen Marijuana Business Zoning Rules Is A ‘Good Step’
“We’ll continue to watch to make sure that public safety is being served across the state and to make sure that the business needs of consumers are being addressed.”
By Jacob Owens and Karl Baker, Spotlight Delaware
Less than three months after Gov. Matt Meyer (D) vetoed legislation to override Sussex County’s restrictions on recreational marijuana businesses, the county council has amended its zoning rules for them—but it’s unclear whether those changes will make a meaningful difference in the industry’s growth in southern Delaware.
Meyer controversially vetoed a bill advanced by his fellow Democrats in the statehouse to loosen the reins on where marijuana dispensaries could locate. The governor cited concerns over subverting local control on zoning issues, and instead proposed a deal.
If Sussex County removed its conditional use requirement for marijuana retail shops, which gives county leaders wide latitude over where to allow such storefronts, and reduced buffer requirements for them, he would advocate for sending 4.5 percent of marijuana sales tax proceeds to the county or municipality in which a marijuana business is located.
On Tuesday, the Sussex County Council voted 4-1–Councilman John Rieley was the lone dissenter, expressing concern with marijuana use overall–to amend its zoning code to remove conditional use requirements for both the C2 (General Commercial) and C3 (Medium Commercial) zones. It also lowered the required buffer between a retail shop and the boundaries of towns or cities to from 3 miles to a half mile.
However, the county retained 3-mile buffers between marijuana dispensaries and between a dispensary and any church, school, college or substance abuse treatment facility.
Meyer told Spotlight Delaware on Wednesday that the amendments were a “good step forward.”
“I don’t think in Dover we should be saying that in Fenwick Island or in Claymont, you have to allow a marijuana store 500 feet from elementary school,” he said. “We’ll continue to watch to make sure that public safety is being served across the state and to make sure that the business needs of consumers are being addressed.”
Meanwhile, Democratic statehouse leaders had committed to attempting to override Meyer’s veto when they returned to Dover in January. It would require nearly all Democratic lawmakers to back that effort to clear the three-fifths threshold, assuming all Republicans deny it.
A request for comment to State Sen. Trey Paradee (D-Dover), who sponsored a bill to overrule Sussex County’s zoning and lower buffers to 500 feet, on whether Sussex County’s amendments may avert that effort was not returned Wednesday night. He was among legislators who met Wednesday in Dover for an extraordinary session on corporate tax reform.
Few obvious areas
Before their vote, Sussex County Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum asked whether, in lieu of the continued restrictions, it was “still plausible to find a space to have a store?”
Assistant County Attorney Vince Robertson replied that he hadn’t checked to see whether the amendments would open any new property to such use. He noted that Sussex County has very little C2 or C3 zoned land because it’s a relatively new designation
That means if a parcel could not meet the buffer requirements, an operator may have to look at rezoning a parcel that could, starting a more onerous and time-intensive process.
“If that sort of sounds like I’m dodging your question, and I am to some extent, it’s because we haven’t looked at every property in the county,” Robertson said, noting they also did not examine how the proposal compared to other counties in Delaware.
Spotlight Delaware did review Sussex County’s zoning map to try to identify parcels that could now be developed for marijuana businesses.
Many of the C2 or C3 parcels identified, however, would seemingly be prohibited for use because of the buffers.
In particular, the buffer required between marijuana dispensaries and churches would be difficult to overcome because of the sheer prevalence of churches in the county.
In fact, a single church in Harbeson would prevent a half dozen C2 or C3 zoned sites off Route 9 from being used for marijuana businesses, according to Spotlight Delaware’s analysis.
Several eligible parcels between Cave Neck Road and Nassau Road along Route 1 would likewise be prohibited due to several nearby churches on the highway.
The same is the case for parcels near the intersection of Josephs Road and Route 9.
Robertson said Sussex County chose the 3-mile buffer when it passed its original zoning ordinance in 2024 because that is the buffer required by state code to separate liquor stores.
Seeking to mimic that code for limits between marijuana stores, the county council also sought uniformity in its buffers between municipal limits and sensitive places like churches, schools, colleges and substance abuse treatment facilities.
“Rather than come up with just different arbitrary numbers for each one, we relied upon the 3 miles that was in state code for the separation distance from stores to stores,” Robertson told the council Tuesday.
The limits on zoning will not affect the five recreational dispensaries currently operating in Sussex County, as they were grandfathered in under conversion licenses from medical marijuana dispensaries, but they will upend dozens of new entrepreneurs looking to enter the legal recreational market.
For Louise Shelton, who has already spent several thousand dollars to acquire a social equity cultivation license for Sussex County, the new amendments have left her frustrated.
She appreciated the council’s easing of regulations in certain zonings, but noted that the buffering is what has largely prevented her from finding anywhere to set up shop.
Shelton had hoped to co-locate her growing facility on a plot of land along with a separate retail shop, but she’s been informed that isn’t permitted either.
She has been working with a realtor to identify potential locations for her facility, but even with the latest changes, Shelton said, “It’s not looking up.”
Licensees have 18 months from the issuance of their license to start operations or risk losing their business back to the state’s lottery system. Shelton got her license in September, meaning her clock has started ticking and having to undergo a lengthy rezoning process is unlikely to meet her needs.
If she doesn’t find a suitable space, she told Spotlight Delaware that she plans to request a license transfer with the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner to move it to Kent County.
This story was first published by Spotlight Delaware.
