By Brian Gilliland

GEORGETOWN — The Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission voted Wednesday to advance an ordinance governing marijuana establishments to County Council, which will soon hold a public hearing on the matter.

The county has a July 5 deadline to enact such rules, or state regulations go into effect. Many municipalities have chosen to ban marijuana sales, but the enabling legislation does not allow counties to do so.

Therefore, the county has taken on the task of regulating testing, manufacturing and retail cannabis operations, with assistant county attorney Vince Robertson saying previously that officials don’t have much interest in regulating which crops farmers can grow and that restrictions on manufacturing facilities are already quite strict.

In the proposed ordinance, retail operations must meet four main conditions, along with other rules published by various oversight organizations. Only one condition has changed since the measure was introduced in February — which regards hours of operation.

Previously, the county draft had set hours for retail operations — for example, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. The board’s proposal would instead tie those hours to state regulations governing this type of business, adding that they can be adjusted through rule changes rather than law changes.
Retail operations would also be restricted to C-3 zoning — the heaviest commercial use allowed in the county.

The other conditions governing retail operation in the ordinance are generally concerned with a distance of 3 miles: Retailers couldn’t be within 3 miles of each other, within 3 miles of certain types of facilities like schools or treatment centers, or within 3 miles of borders of prohibiting towns.

The Planning & Zoning Commission acts in an advisory role in this process, due to interaction with land use and zoning regulations, said Chip Guy, public information officer for Sussex County.

“After the Planning & Zoning step, County Council holds its own public hearing, another chance for the public to weigh in, which usually happens within two to four weeks after the commission’s hearing (depending on how the meeting schedules fall),” he explained.

County council’s agenda for its next meeting, on Tuesday, does not include a public hearing on the ordinance. However, the published agenda is subject to change without conditions.

“After said council hearing, the council can elect to close the record and then defer or act, or leave it open for additional information. At the time council has all the necessary information in hand, that body renders the final decision,” Mr. Guy said.