Why Should Delaware Care?
With the recent legalization of marijuana in Delaware, municipalities within the state must now shape how the industry will be integrated into local communities, which will impact everything from economic growth to public safety. The city of Wilmington’s decisions on zoning and regulation could shape how marijuana use is managed and perceived, potentially setting a precedent for other cities in the state.
With less than six months until the scheduled start of legal recreational marijuana sales in Delaware, the Wilmington City Council is still debating one of the most important questions in the process: where retail shops and other marijuana-related businesses can open.
A proposal recently put before the Wilmington City Council aims to designate those areas but has sparked a healthy debate over what areas work best and how to align them with sensitive institutions like schools.
After the Delaware Marijuana Control Act legalized recreational use for those 21 and older last spring, the state began a nearly 18-month-long process to set up a regulated industry of growers, testers, processors and sellers statewide.
While counties cannot prohibit marijuana-related businesses under the law, municipalities were given that option, and more than a half dozen towns and cities have done so statewide.
But municipalities also have the authority to decide where marijuana retail, manufacture, cultivation and testing establishments can operate in their jurisdictions.
Councilwoman At-Large Maria Cabrera, who introduced the proposal earlier this month, aims to regulate which zoning districts in Wilmington will permit these businesses to operate. Cabrera hopes to allow safe access to cannabis products for residents, while ensuring the city is able to benefit financially and reinvest into the community.
However, some council members and locals oppose the legislation, voicing concerns that placing these establishments in certain areas could negatively impact the city’s image and result in safety risks for youth in the city.
“When something’s unknown, people tend to perceive it as being disruptive. So that’s where I feel it’s better to be educated about it first before we make those assumptions,” Cabrera said.
In late August, the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner, a newly created office responsible for regulating the industry within the state, began its process to administer business licenses.
The OMC opened applications for the 125 marijuana business licenses available in the state and received over 1,200 applicants by the end of the application period on Sept. 30.
New Castle County has a total of 59 available licenses, with 14 licenses for retail, 28 for cultivation, 15 for manufacturing and two for testing.
As a result of the overwhelming turnout, the eligible licensing applicants will be selected through a lottery system, which will work in phases. The first lottery phase winners will be announced via Facebook Live on Oct. 24, according to OMC officials.
With the legal sale of marijuana currently scheduled to begin in April, the city has greater urgency to clarify how it will manage these businesses.
The increase from a 100-foot buffer zone to a 300-foot zone places dramatic restrictions on where marijuana businesses could ultimately locate in Wilmington. | MAPS COURTESY OF WILMINGTON CITY COUNCIL
Establishing zoning
There are five zoning categories in the city that dictate how land can be used within its designated area, which include commercial, residential, manufacturing and industrial, waterfront and special purpose zones. Each of these categories are broken down into subcategories of land uses.
The proposed ordinance will allow the four types of marijuana establishments including marijuana cultivation, product manufacturing, testing, and retail stores to be allowed in both of the city’s manufacturing and industrial zones (M-1 and M-2), primarily located in east Wilmington, with spaces spread throughout and three waterfront manufacturing and commercial areas (W-1, W-2 and W-3).
Retail marijuana stores will also be permitted in four of the city’s commercial zoning districts for business and retail, including the secondary business centers (C-2), secondary office and business centers (C-2A), central retail (C-3) and central office (C-4) commercial zoning districts.
And retail stores and testing facilities will also be allowed in the waterfront residential/commercial area (W-4), with special approval from the zoning board.
The proposal also sets parking space requirements for testing centers, specifying that the minimum required must either be one space per employee or one space per 2,000 square feet of gross floor area, whichever is greater.
The current version of the legislation also creates a buffer zone of 300 feet, which is almost the size of a football field, to separate these marijuana establishments from schools and residential zoning districts.
Community, legislators raise concerns
District 8 Councilman Nathan Field said some of his constituents are against the proposal allowing commercial sales along areas like Market and Union streets, and Pennsylvania and Lovering avenues, arguing these areas are key entry points to the city which shouldn’t be lined with cannabis stores.
Frank Ursomarso, the longtime owner of Union Park car dealerships in Wilmington, shares this concern and said he is advocating for an increase in the buffer zone to 500 feet, which would virtually prohibit cannabis shops from those specific areas as well as the commercial zone altogether.
“I think that it distracts from the value of the properties. It places the dispensaries too close to schools and homes where children are, and it sort of tarnishes the complexion of the neighborhoods,” Ursomarso said.
Cabrera’s proposal originally created a buffer zone of 100 feet, but that was increased to 300 feet following a review by the city’s Planning Commission, which Cabrera feels doesn’t allow any practical space for businesses to set up.
She said that she supports a 300-foot buffer from schools, but has sent the proposal back to the Zoning Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission to consider reducing the buffer zone back to 100 feet for residential areas.
Councilman At-Large James Spadola argued that there are still too many unknowns, and suggested the city start with more restrictive policy and then potentially gradually easing it after assessing the climate once businesses are up and running.
But Field also argued that the proposal has several issues, including insufficient community outreach on the topic. He also said that there is a current lack of police enforcement on outdoor public marijuana smoking which is still illegal, and believes the smell will deter visitors, essentially hurting businesses throughout the city.
“What’s the benefit for the City of Wilmington? Net-net, as far as I can tell any ‘pros’ of the rezoning proposal appear to be far outweighed by the ‘cons,’” Field said.
According to the proposal, there is no anticipated negative fiscal impact on city revenues, but the potential revenue return to the city from these businesses is still unknown.
The Delaware Marijuana Control Act created a 15% sales tax on all recreational marijuana products that will be collected by the state, but Cabrera noted that the city will benefit from wage taxes and any registration fees from the businesses.
Others see potential benefits
The proposal has gained support from small business advocates like Ayanna Khan, CEO of the Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce, who wrote a letter to city council, urging legislators to keep the buffer zone to 100 feet, to allow underrepresented and small business owners to be able to foster economic growth and dispel “outdated stigmas” in the cannabis industry.
District 3 Councilwoman Zanthia Oliver also feels the ordinance will create revenue that the city can use for different community initiatives and it will provide safe establishments for people in the city who already use marijuana and may be getting it from unsafe sources.
Oliver also doesn’t believe that any bias toward the businesses will drive people out.
“So you think if there’s two dispensaries, one down in the Riverfront and one on Governor Printz Boulevard, that’s gonna stop people from moving to Wilmington? Come on, you can’t tell me that,” she said.
Cabrera said she is trying to urge community members to visit the existing medical marijuana dispensaries, such as First State Compassion just outside city limits, so that people can get an idea of how they will actually be run.
But ultimately, she wants to decrease the illegal sales of marijuana in the city by providing access to regulated products. And although there’s no guarantee of how many of the 14 retail licenses available in the county will actually end up in the city limits, Cabrera wants to ensure that there is accessibility.
“It’s really the luck of the draw, but we shouldn’t make it prohibitive if they do, is what I’m saying. We should have at least one or two in our city that’s accessible to the residents,” Cabrera said.
The ordinance will be seen by the city’s Planning Commission for revisions on Tuesday, Oct. 22, before it goes to the Community Development & Urban Planning Committee on Wednesday, Oct. 23 to be reviewed. A public hearing on the proposal will be held on Nov. 7.
Make Your Voice Heard
Wilmington City’s Planning Commission will meet at 6 p.m. Oct. 22 in the Louis L. Redding City/County Building at 800 N. French St. They will review Cabrera’s legislation and the public will be allowed to comment. To see the agenda and more details, click here.
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