LYNDHURST, Ohio — While some area community leaders are still deciding on whether to allow adult-use recreational marijuana dispensaries to operate within their borders, Lyndhurst City Council took action Monday (May 19) to prohibit such businesses.
In fact, Lyndhurst City Council also said no to medical marijuana facilities.
During a brief meeting held at the Lyndhurst Community Center prior to Mayor Patrick Ward delivering his state-of-the-city address, council voted 7-0 on the legislation banning dispensaries.
“There’ve been several discussions in (council) committee meetings for a while,” said Vice Mayor David Frey of the prohibition. “And it just got to the point where the state of Ohio is not really firmly committed to anything, legislation-wise, so we decided we (Lyndhurst City Council) were going to take action.
“We were kind of waiting to see what Ohio did and, in lieu of them not doing much in a very efficient or expedient manner, we chose to do something on our own, which is allowed by the ordinance of the state of Ohio.”
Ohio SB 56, now before the Ohio House of Representatives, is still under consideration and undergoing changes. It’s stated goal is to consolidates and revise Ohio’s medical and adult-use marijuana laws.
The state does allow communities to choose whether or not to allow dispensaries. However, with SB 56’s ultimate status unclear, Ohio communities have been unsure as to what direction to take in allowing dispensaries.
Locally, Beachwood City Council has instituted moratoriums against dispensaries. Mayfield Heights City Council is still discussing how to best regulate them, while South Euclid has allowed them and has two active dispensaries.
Richmond Heights City Council has been discussing the matter for more than a year and may take a vote at its May 27 meeting as to whether to prohibit dispensaries.
Mayfield Village and Pepper Pike have said no to dispensaries.
Frey said Lyndhurst leaders have not heard from residents who would like to see dispensaries open in the city.
Lyndhurst council has passed two, six-month moratoriums on dispensaries of recreational and medical marijuana. The second of those moratoriums expired this month.
“I don’t think any one of us (council members) saw it (dispensaries) as a good fit for the city of Lyndhurst,” Frey said. “I think other cities have done it because they thought it was going to be a nice revenue generator. That really hasn’t panned out as maybe they expected.
“Regardless of that, I just don’t think any one of us on City Council believed that it would be a good business to have.”
Said Ward, “I believe a lot of our sister communities that have agreed to host these facilities have been disappointed. Why? Because state rules have changed, they’re not getting the contribution to their bottom line they were expecting, which is very troubling. There are no guarantees.
“We enacted two moratoriums to see how the dust would settle, but the dust is still in the air. It’s not something we believed we could explain to our community and be able to say, ‘Well, there’s a good reason to do this.’”
When asked if there was interest by any dispensary owners in opening in Lyndhurst, Ward said there were “softball” inquiries.
“I don’t know that the interest was too high from any of them,” he said.
Read more from the Sun Messenger.
Lyndhurst City Council, on Monday, joined Mayfield Village and Pepper Pike in prohibiting medical and adult-use recreational-use marijuana dispensaries from opening. Other communities throughout Ohio are still making their decisions, as permitted by state law. Read More
