§ 14-597. Location, co-location, operational restrictions and requirements, medical marijuana establishments.

(a)

Medical marijuana centers are permitted only in those PUD's (planned unit development) which allow retail uses, and C-1 (commercial) and I-1 (industrial) districts, excluding all residential properties within such districts, and upon obtaining all land use approvals necessary for such use and, further, provided that no medical marijuana center shall be located within 1,000 feet of any school, or 500 feet of any other medical marijuana center or a retail marijuana store, excepting a retail marijuana store co-located with the applicants premises.

(b)

The maximum total number of licensed medical marijuana centers and retail marijuana stores in the city shall not exceed five though a co-located medical marijuana center and retail marijuana store shall count as one establishment.

(c)

Medical marijuana testing facilities are permitted only in those PUD's which allow laboratory or research facilities, and C-1 and I-1 districts, and upon obtaining all land use approvals necessary for such use and further provided that no medical marijuana testing facility shall be located within 1,000 feet of any school.

(d)

All medical marijuana optional premises cultivation facilities and infused product manufacturers shall have each harvest and production batch tested for microbial and residual solvent, contaminants by a licensed medical marijuana testing facility prior to the wholesale, transfer or processing of any marijuana or marijuana infused product.

(e)

Medical marijuana optional premises cultivation facilities and infused product manufacturers are permitted only in the I-1 district, excluding any PUD's permitting I-1 uses by right or conditional uses, all residential properties within an I-1 district, and upon obtaining all land use approvals necessary for such use and further provided that no such facilities shall be located within 1,000 feet of any school.

(f)

The distance restrictions set forth in this section as to schools and medical marijuana centers and retail marijuana stores are to be computed by direct measurement from the nearest property line or right-of-way boundary of any school or medical marijuana center or retail marijuana store to the nearest portion of the footprint of the medical marijuana center or establishments licensed premises.

(g)

The distance restrictions set forth in this section shall not be applicable to the renewal of a license once granted.

(h)

In addition, the area of the licensed premises open to the general public shall not exceed 2,500 square feet. For the purposes of this subsection, "open to the general public" means those areas not designated as limited access areas, pursuant to the Medical Marijuana Code and its rules.

(i)

Co-location restrictions. Medical marijuana centers and retail marijuana stores may be under common ownership in the same location and share the same licensed premises subject to the following:

(1)

A licensed medical marijuana center that permits admittance of patients under 21 years of age may also hold a retail marijuana store license and operate a dual marijuana business operation on the same licensed premises. In such case, the retail marijuana store licensee must post signage that clearly conveys that persons under 21 years of age may not enter the area which contains the retail marijuana store. Under these circumstances, and upon approval of the local and state licensing authorities, the medical marijuana center and the retail marijuana store may share a common foyer but must have separate entrances and exits, and medical marijuana and retail marijuana goods and products must be separately displayed and sold. Record keeping for the business operations of both must enable the local and state licensing authorities to clearly distinguish the inventories and business transactions of medical marijuana and medical marijuana-infused products from retail marijuana and retail marijuana products.

(2)

A licensed medical marijuana center that prohibits admission of patients under the age of 21 years of age may also hold a retail marijuana store license and operate a dual marijuana business operation on the licensed premises. In such cases, the medical marijuana center must post signage that clearly conveys that persons under 21 years of age may not enter the establishment. Under these circumstances and upon approval of the local and state licensing authorities the medical marijuana center and retail marijuana store may share the same entrances and exits. Medical marijuana and retail marijuana and medical marijuana-infused products and retail marijuana products must be displayed separately on the same sale floor. Record keeping for the business operations of both must enable the state and local licensing authority to clearly distinguish the inventories and business transactions of medical marijuana and medical marijuana-infused products from retail marijuana and retail marijuana product.

(3)

Co-located licensed operations must be operated in accordance with both the Medical and Retail Marijuana Code and their rules.

(j)

Business conducted within building. Any and all cultivation, production, distribution, possession, storage, testing, display, sale, or other distribution of medical marijuana shall occur only within the restricted area of a medical marijuana establishment and shall not be visible from the exterior of the establishment.

(k)

Manager registration requirements. Each medical marijuana establishment licensee shall manage or have a manager and shall register the manager with the state and the local licensing authority. Whenever a person ceases to be a registered manager of a medical marijuana establishment, the medical marijuana establishment licensee shall notify the licensing authorities within five days and shall designate a new registered manager within 30 days. Either the state or the local licensing authority may refuse to accept any person as a registered manager unless the person is satisfactory to the respective licensing authorities as to character, record, and reputation. In determining a registered manager's character, record, and reputation, the state or local licensing authority may have access to criminal history record information furnished by a criminal justice agency subject to any restrictions imposed by such agency.

(l)

Hours of operation. A medical marijuana center shall be closed to the public, and no sale or other distribution of marijuana shall occur upon the premises between the hours of 12:00 a.m., through and including 8:00 a.m.

(m)

Use of pesticides. No pesticides or insecticides that are prohibited by applicable law for fertilization or production of edible product shall be used on any marijuana cultivated, produced, or distributed by a medical marijuana establishment. A medical marijuana establishment shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding use of pesticides.

(n)

Labeling required. All medical marijuana and medical marijuana products sold or otherwise distributed by the licensee shall be labeled in compliance with the Medical Marijuana Code and its rules.

(o)

Ventilation required. A medical marijuana establishment shall be ventilated to ensure the odor of marijuana cannot be detected by a person with a normal sense of smell at the exterior of the medical marijuana establishment or at any adjoining property.

(p)

Wastewater requirements. All medical marijuana establishments shall be operated in such a manner as to not permit, allow, or cause to be discharged any substance or material prohibited by the city into or upon any watercourse or city conduit.

(q)

Storage prohibitions of medical marijuana and medical marijuana-infused products. No medical marijuana establishment may store medical marijuana or medical marijuana-infused products in any off-premises storage facility located within the city nor may any medical marijuana transporter store any medical marijuana or medical marijuana-infused products within the city.

(r)

Reporting requirements. A medical marijuana establishment shall report to the local licensing authority each of the following events within the time specified. If no time is specified, the report shall be provided within 72 hours of the event.

(1)

Transfer or change of financial interest, business manager, or financier in the license to the city at least 30 days before the transfer or change.

(2)

Taxable transactions and sales and use tax reports to the city monthly.

(3)

A violation of any law by any licensee or applicant of a medical marijuana establishment.

(4)

Each licensee shall post and keep at all times visible to the public, in a conspicuous place on the premises, a sign to be furnished by the city clerk's office, which sign shall be in the following form: "WARNING: THE FEDERAL HEIGHTS POLICE DEPARTMENT MUST BE NOTIFIED IMMEDIATELY OF ALL UNLAWFUL ACTS AND DISTURBANCES IN THIS ESTABLISHMENT." Licensees shall immediately report to the police department any unlawful act, conduct, or disturbance committed upon the premises.

(s)

Respond to inquiry. The owner or manager of a medical marijuana establishment is required to respond by phone or email within 24 hours of contact by a city official concerning its medical marijuana establishment at the phone number or email address provided to the city as the contact for the business. Each 24-hour period during which an owner or manager does not respond to the city official shall be considered a separate violation.

(t)

Signs and advertising.

(1)

Medical marijuana centers are prohibited from using the terms "pharmacy," "pharmacist," "pharmaceutical," "RX," or any other similar variation of such terms as their corporate, business, or "doing business as" name, so as to prevent a reasonable person from concluding such business is involved in the practice of pharmacy, as regulated by pharmaceuticals and pharmacists, C.R.S. tit. 12, art. 22 as amended. Additionally no medical marijuana establishment may use any of the above terms or any similar variation thereof in any of its signs, placards, promotional or advertising materials.

(2)

Any person or premises licensed as a medical marijuana establishment shall comply with all city ordinances regulating signs and advertising. In addition, no licensed medical marijuana establishment shall use any advertising material that is misleading, deceptive, false, or that, as evidenced either by the content of the advertising material or the medium or the manner in which the advertising is disseminated, is designed to appeal to persons under 18 years of age.

(3)

Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (3), it shall be unlawful for any person licensed under this article or any other person to advertise any medical marijuana or medical marijuana-infused product anywhere in the city where the advertisement is visible to members of the public from any street, sidewalk, park, or other public place, including advertising utilizing any of the following media: Any billboard or other outdoor general advertising device as defined by the zoning code; any sign mounted on a vehicle, any hand-held or other portable sign; or any handbill, leaflet, or flier directly handed to any person in a public place, left upon a motor vehicle, or posted upon any public or private property without the consent of the property owner. The prohibition set forth in this section shall not apply to:

a.

Any sign located on the same zone lot as a medical marijuana center which exists solely for the purpose of identifying the location of the medical marijuana center and which otherwise complies with the city's zoning requirements and any other applicable city laws and regulations; or

b.

Any advertisement contained within a newspaper, magazine, or other periodical of general circulation within the city; or

c.

Advertising which is purely incidental to sponsorship of a charitable event by a medical marijuana establishment.

(4)

For purposes of this subsection (q), the terms "advertise," "advertising," or "advertisement," means the act of drawing the public's attention to a medical marijuana establishment in order to promote the sale of medical marijuana or medical marijuana infused products by the establishment.

(Ord. No. 17-01, § 1, 2-6-2017; Ord. No. 17-15, § 1, 9-19-2017)