Marijuana Pros And Cons
WOOSTER — The president of Chippewa Township’s zoning commission had a simple, two-sentence amendment for which he sought a recommendation for approval from the Wayne County Planning Commission.
The amendment would add a new subsection: Medical and Recreational Marijuana. The text is “Commercial cultivation, processing and retail dispensing of medical marijuana are not permitted within the boundaries of Chippewa Township.”
Sayre told commission members Wednesday it was his understanding when state legislators approved medical marijuana, “We have to either accept it and regulate it, or deny it. We want to deny it.”
“This will be interesting down the road in the courts,” commission President Bill Cletzer said.
Wayne County Commissioner Ann Obrecht,
who sits on the Planning Commission with colleagues Sue Smail and Ron Amstutz, asked whether any township in the county could do something similar.
Only if those counties have zoning, said Planning Department Director Betsy Sparr.
Of Wayne County’s 16 townships, only Chippewa has zoning.
Commission member John Fitzpatrick said he believes the courts will ultimately rule townships like Chippewa will have have areas where those types of operations can do business, but they will not be able to prohibit it entirely.
The Planning Commission members recommended the amendment be approved by Chippewa Township’s zoning commission.
“This is a good move on their part,” Cletzer said following the meeting. He is a Congress Township trustee, and he had worked to pass zoning in Congress Township. A zoning resolution first passed in 1994, but it was ruled invalid in spring 2011 following a Phantom Fireworks court case in which the company challenged the zoning regulations when it wanted to expand its business.
“We’re still an agricultural county, but zoning has its place,” Cletzer said. “(Chippewa) is being proactive. You have to stay ahead of it.”
State legislators decided to act on medical marijuana in order to have some control over it instead of allowing special interest groups to draft their own constitutional amendment. Amstutz, who was the No. 2 man in the Ohio House of Representatives when it passed, voted against medical marijuana.
Reporter Bobby Warren can be reached at 330-287-1639 or bwarren@the-daily-record.com. He is @BobbyWarrenTDR on Twitter.
The amendment would add a new subsection: Medical and Recreational Marijuana. The text is “Commercial cultivation, processing and retail dispensing of medical marijuana are not permitted within the boundaries of Chippewa Township.”
Sayre told commission members Wednesday it was his understanding when state legislators approved medical marijuana, “We have to either accept it and regulate it, or deny it. We want to deny it.”
“This will be interesting down the road in the courts,” commission President Bill Cletzer said.
Wayne County Commissioner Ann Obrecht,
who sits on the Planning Commission with colleagues Sue Smail and Ron Amstutz, asked whether any township in the county could do something similar.
Only if those counties have zoning, said Planning Department Director Betsy Sparr.
Of Wayne County’s 16 townships, only Chippewa has zoning.
Commission member John Fitzpatrick said he believes the courts will ultimately rule townships like Chippewa will have have areas where those types of operations can do business, but they will not be able to prohibit it entirely.
The Planning Commission members recommended the amendment be approved by Chippewa Township’s zoning commission.
“This is a good move on their part,” Cletzer said following the meeting. He is a Congress Township trustee, and he had worked to pass zoning in Congress Township. A zoning resolution first passed in 1994, but it was ruled invalid in spring 2011 following a Phantom Fireworks court case in which the company challenged the zoning regulations when it wanted to expand its business.
“We’re still an agricultural county, but zoning has its place,” Cletzer said. “(Chippewa) is being proactive. You have to stay ahead of it.”
State legislators decided to act on medical marijuana in order to have some control over it instead of allowing special interest groups to draft their own constitutional amendment. Amstutz, who was the No. 2 man in the Ohio House of Representatives when it passed, voted against medical marijuana.
Reporter Bobby Warren can be reached at 330-287-1639 or bwarren@the-daily-record.com. He is @BobbyWarrenTDR on Twitter.