Orange County NC Website
17 <br /> DRAFT <br /> 195 development standards in the industrial or the commercial districts, then they could potentially be placed there <br /> 196 with a simple permit application, Zoning Compliance Permit, to the staff and we would permit it if they could <br /> 197 prove that they meet the radius requirements, as well as all of our other development standards. <br /> 198 <br /> 199 Marilyn Carter: So, I guess my question is to the Board. Does it feel that there should be a stricter <br /> 200 implementation beyond what we've already discussed? I wasn't sure. So, if that's not the case then I'll move <br /> 201 on to my other question.And my other question is how many businesses are currently grandfathered in — <br /> 202 clearly the support from myself and sounds like the rest of the Board for this ordinance—how many businesses <br /> 203 will be grandfathered in that are in existence right now? <br /> 204 <br /> 205 Cy Stober: I don't know of any at this time in the county. Again, in the unincorporated areas of the <br /> 206 county there may be some, but I'm not aware of them. And if they, if someone registered a complaint we <br /> 207 would, of course, investigate and have to determine when they were given the Certificate of Occupancy and if <br /> 208 they already have it and they're not making any expansions or other intensifications to the property, they're <br /> 209 allowed to persist there indefinitely. <br /> 210 <br /> 211 Marilyn Carter: Okay, well, that's good to know there's no, there's no one under the grandfathering <br /> 212 situation. <br /> 213 <br /> 214 Cy Stober: No, there's no sunset clause in this amendment. <br /> 215 <br /> 216 Delores Bailey: What happens if marijuana is legalized in North Carolina? <br /> 217 <br /> 218 Cy Stober: That's a great question and it's going to be a big headache for me. I don't know, Mr. <br /> 219 Bailey, I just don't know. Because there's so many variables, and states have regulated marijuana <br /> 220 recreationally or medicinally in so many different ways, so I just don't know. I mean, I grew up in Ohio which <br /> 221 just legalized medical use of marijuana, but they're doing it essentially in like with an ABC permit. Other places <br /> 222 are treating it like it's any other business. We don't know what might happen with statewide legalization. <br /> 223 <br /> 224 Beth Bronson: So, in North Carolina they issued 30 growers permits for hemp. And so, to that point, 1 <br /> 225 would think medical marijuana is very much coming really quickly. <br /> 226 <br /> 227 Cy Stober: I haven't seen the draft legislation. I have seen that it is markedly different from what was <br /> 228 introduced 2 years ago in the short session, and then what was debated in the long session. I'm watching it <br /> 229 because it's going to be a major amendment to our Ordinance and I imagine we'll have a lot of public input on <br /> 230 that, but I really don't know how the state proposes to—and just to be blunt, if it's for medical use it's much <br /> 231 simpler for us. It will be likely licensed and affiliated with some sort of medical institution. It becomes a much <br /> 232 simpler conversation than if we're going with retail dispensaries like they have in Nevada or where else, <br /> 233 Michigan, I don't know what we'll do. And I don't know what the pleasure of the Commissioners will be in terms <br /> 234 of regulating it because it's a very political conversation. I think that the, to probably speak out of turn, I think <br /> 235 that the discussion about youth targeting will not change, but the politics of who should have access to these <br /> 236 products and why and under what circumstances is also to be determined. <br /> 237 <br /> 238 Beth Bronson: I do want to piggyback off that and to your point about that, when you make it a <br /> 239 Conditional District or say that it has to be the primary use, what you're doing is maybe excluding those <br /> 240 businesses or creating a barrier for those businesses to establish themselves in the incorporated county area <br /> 241 that we have jurisdiction of, however you are driving those tobacco and hemp retail products into locations <br /> 242 where minors are completely welcome, like a gas station where that's not their primary use, but it's plastered <br /> 243 all over the walls, it's plastered behind the counter, it's plastered to the corner of the counter, so what you <br />