Arapahoe County is proposing changes to medical and retail marijuana regulations that will allow current businesses to move to another location within unincorporated Arapahoe County.
The proposed changes to the County’s Land Development Code do not increase the total allowable number of stores—only four commercial marijuana store locations are allowed in unincorporated Arapahoe County—but they would allow these stores to relocate to a new location through a public review process. If a store’s proposed move is approved, the original location will close.
The proposed regulations include the following changes:
- Allows a total of four commercial marijuana stores within unincorporated Arapahoe County
- Continues to prohibit other marijuana uses, including but not limited to marijuana grow/cultivation facilities, marijuana testing, marijuana clubs/onsite consumption, and marijuana product manufacturing.
- Allows an existing commercial marijuana store to relocate to another location in unincorporated Arapahoe County under the following conditions:
- The alternate location must be zoned for commercial or industrial uses
- Requires Use by Special Review approval, which mandates a public hearing with the Board of County Commissioners
- Follows all State and County requirements for commercial marijuana uses and facilities such as setbacks from other uses or other distance limitations. (For example, Colorado law requires 1,000 feet of separation from schools, residential childcare, and alcohol/drug treatment facilities.)
- The alternate location must be located west of the north-south alignment of Watkins Road
- The alternate location’s store must not exceed 5,000 square feet in size
- The commercial marijuana store must use effective measures to mitigate the perceptible odor of marijuana
Email questions or comments about the proposed changes to—jreynolds@arapahoegov.com—by Sept. 30. Public hearings before the Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners will be held later this Fall.
Learn more about the proposed amendments