Committee hears update on ordinance enabling municipal action against landlords of unlicensed cannabis sellers

The committee received an update on a revised ordinance intended to allow the city to take municipal action against landlords who rent to businesses selling cannabis without a license.

The chair said staff reworked the ordinance after meetings with the public health and enforcement departments and added language allowing the city to proceed against landlords. "We reworked the ordinance on that, and we added in allowing the city to go against landlords to it. That's gonna go before the board of health next week. If it passes the board of health, it's then gonna go to public safety, and then we'll need to go to GCC and council," the chair said.

Staff described recent complaints at a Harbor Park event where families reported people smoking marijuana near children; staff said they asked the individuals to stop and that the revised ordinance would provide stronger tools if similar problems recur. "We got some complaints from families with kids...We were just able to ask them. We got some complaints from families with kids. We were just able to ask them to stop, and they did," a staff member said, noting that pursuing landlords may give the city "a little more teeth to enforce that."

The committee did not take final action; the ordinance will proceed to the Board of Health next week for consideration and may then move through Public Safety, GCC and the full council if approved by subcommittees.