Yellowstone County adopts permanent marijuana zoning rules, schedules Oct. 24 hearing on seven nonconforming businesses
October 03, 2023 | Yellowstone, Montana
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The Yellowstone County Board of County Commissioners voted on Oct. 3 to adopt permanent zoning regulations for marijuana businesses, ending the interim rules adopted in 2021 and leaving a separate, scheduled hearing to decide compliance timelines for seven potentially nonconforming businesses.
Planning staff told the board the permanent rules largely track the interim regulations adopted in November 2021 but add clarity on measurement and rebuild options. "The interim regulations by state law may only be in effect for a total of 2 years," Planning staff member Nicole said during her presentation, noting the county must either adopt permanent regulations or allow the interim rules to expire.
The adoption drew extended public comment from marijuana business owners and patients. "I thought we'd be celebrating our growth within the county today," David Hiller, owner of Yellowstone Buds, told commissioners, urging that preexisting businesses be grandfathered and warning that years of local investment could be lost. Other operators described obtaining permits, investing millions, and said conflicting county communications had created reliance on prior approvals.
Planning staff and county legal presentations clarified that most of the seven identified businesses did not meet preexisting zoning requirements and therefore may not qualify as legally nonconforming. "Six of the seven were not lawful and therefore cannot meet the definition of nonconforming or cannot be grandfathered," Monica, a planning staff presenter, said, outlining options that include zone-change applications or special-review processes to attempt compliance.
Commissioners voted to adopt the text amendment — recorded as county zone change 7-21 — by voice vote. In separate actions the board also approved a resolution to set a public hearing on Oct. 24, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. to consider whether to identify and potentially set compliance timelines or sunsetting for the seven businesses staff has flagged.
Supporters of the industry, including medical users, urged commissioners not to shrink access. "As a cancer patient... medical marijuana became something that was able to get me through that terrible, terrible time in my life," said Katie Mazerick, who called in to urge caution about any steps that would remove access.
Monica told commissioners the Oct. 24 hearing will include a comprehensive staff report identifying the businesses, zoning facts and proposed timelines so the board can make an informed decision. If the commission chooses to adopt a sunsetting resolution then affected businesses would be given an established time frame to achieve compliance or cease operations at those locations.
The commission’s action adopted permanent regulations but did not itself decide whether any specific business would be allowed to remain; that will be determined after the Oct. 24 hearing and any subsequent action the commission takes.
The meeting record shows broad disagreement among business owners and some commissioners about whether inconsistent prior communications justified special treatment; planning staff repeatedly emphasized that zoning code definitions — not the nature of the business — determine nonconforming status.
A separate, later agenda item will consider the specific list of seven businesses and whether any will be excluded from a sunsetting resolution.
Planning staff told the board the permanent rules largely track the interim regulations adopted in November 2021 but add clarity on measurement and rebuild options. "The interim regulations by state law may only be in effect for a total of 2 years," Planning staff member Nicole said during her presentation, noting the county must either adopt permanent regulations or allow the interim rules to expire.
The adoption drew extended public comment from marijuana business owners and patients. "I thought we'd be celebrating our growth within the county today," David Hiller, owner of Yellowstone Buds, told commissioners, urging that preexisting businesses be grandfathered and warning that years of local investment could be lost. Other operators described obtaining permits, investing millions, and said conflicting county communications had created reliance on prior approvals.
Planning staff and county legal presentations clarified that most of the seven identified businesses did not meet preexisting zoning requirements and therefore may not qualify as legally nonconforming. "Six of the seven were not lawful and therefore cannot meet the definition of nonconforming or cannot be grandfathered," Monica, a planning staff presenter, said, outlining options that include zone-change applications or special-review processes to attempt compliance.
Commissioners voted to adopt the text amendment — recorded as county zone change 7-21 — by voice vote. In separate actions the board also approved a resolution to set a public hearing on Oct. 24, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. to consider whether to identify and potentially set compliance timelines or sunsetting for the seven businesses staff has flagged.
Supporters of the industry, including medical users, urged commissioners not to shrink access. "As a cancer patient... medical marijuana became something that was able to get me through that terrible, terrible time in my life," said Katie Mazerick, who called in to urge caution about any steps that would remove access.
Monica told commissioners the Oct. 24 hearing will include a comprehensive staff report identifying the businesses, zoning facts and proposed timelines so the board can make an informed decision. If the commission chooses to adopt a sunsetting resolution then affected businesses would be given an established time frame to achieve compliance or cease operations at those locations.
The commission’s action adopted permanent regulations but did not itself decide whether any specific business would be allowed to remain; that will be determined after the Oct. 24 hearing and any subsequent action the commission takes.
The meeting record shows broad disagreement among business owners and some commissioners about whether inconsistent prior communications justified special treatment; planning staff repeatedly emphasized that zoning code definitions — not the nature of the business — determine nonconforming status.
A separate, later agenda item will consider the specific list of seven businesses and whether any will be excluded from a sunsetting resolution.
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