Colorado Springs council to cast 2nd vote on recreational marijuana ordinance Tuesday

The Colorado Springs City Council is scheduled Tuesday to cast its second vote on a proposed ordinance that will likely prevent recreational cannabis sales throughout much of the city, a move some officials worry could circumvent residents' wishes.

On Sept. 10, the council voted 7-2 in favor of an ordinance that will modify city code and preemptively prohibit marijuana facilities that sell recreational cannabis from operating within 1 mile of K-12 schools and residential child care and drug or alcohol treatment facilities.

Many other Front Range governments do not regulate retail marijuana facility zoning as rigidly as Colorado Springs could under this rule.

For example, Manitou Springs prohibits retail marijuana dispensaries from operating within 500 feet of educational institutions, child care and alcohol or drug rehabilitation facilities. In Boulder and Denver, retail cannabis dispensaries cannot operate within 1,000 feet of those services.

In Colorado Springs, medical marijuana stores are currently prohibited from operating within 1,000 feet of schools and child care facilities.

Though Colorado Springs does not currently allow recreational marijuana sales in city limits, voters in November will decide between two competing ballot questions.

A resident-backed question proposes allowing the city's roughly 90 existing permitted medical marijuana stores to opt into also selling retail marijuana. A council-backed question, in contrast, proposes amending city charter to prohibit retail marijuana stores and product, manufacturing, testing and cultivation facilities from operating in city boundaries.

Councilwoman Lynette Crow-Iverson, who sponsored the ordinance, has said the proposed 1-mile buffer for recreational marijuana sales, measured by a route of direct pedestrian access, is "not scientific." She and other supporters have said they believe the proposed law will keep marijuana out of the hands of underage users.

At previous council and planning commission meetings, supporters highlighted potential health effects of marijuana, particularly if it has high-potency THC, the main psychoactive component in the drug.

It can cause sleep issues, anxiety, depression and can lead to addiction, One Chance to Grow Up representatives testified. The organization advocates for protecting children from the dangers of marijuana.

More opportunities to purchase recreational marijuana in Colorado Springs will increase the likelihood that more people, including children, will use it, One Chance to Grow Up agents previously said.

Councilwomen Yolanda Avila and Nancy Henjum, as well as planning commissioners who opposed the ordinance, said it could sidestep the will of voters if residents authorize recreational cannabis sales.

A map provided by city planners shows the ordinance would likely limit permitted recreational marijuana sales to the city's eastern side, making it "very difficult" for shops to find a legal location to operate, Interim Planning Director Kevin Walker previously said.

"The 1-mile setback ordinance is a de facto ban and an attempt to distract dispensary operators and voters. Those locations are not viable alternatives," Meghan Graf, spokesperson for Citizens for Responsible Marijuana Regulation, the resident-backed campaign, said in a Friday email.

Crow-Iverson maintains the council has the authority to implement laws like the proposed marijuana ordinance.

"We are not a democracy," she said Sept. 10. "We are elected to write policy and govern on behalf of the people."

Opponents have not spoken against the ordinance at recent public hearings. Some — doctors, attorneys, commercial landlords and the board of directors of the Colorado Springs Cannabis Association — submitted letters to the council and planning commission urging both bodies to vote against the document.

The city only considered implementing a 1-mile setback after it was clear residents could have the opportunity this fall to approve recreational sales, the Colorado Springs Cannabis Association's board of directors wrote in an Aug. 28 letter to planning commissioners.

"The proposed setback has nothing to do with land use policy and everything to do with improperly mobilizing the power of the administrative state in an attempt to frustrate the will of Colorado Springs voters and taxpayers," that board wrote.

In an Aug. 28 letter to the City Council and Planning Commission, Dr. Bryon Adinoff, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Doctors for Drug Policy Reform who has taught about, researched and treated alcohol and drug abuse in several capacities, pushed back against recent arguments made about the potential dangers of cannabis.

Marijuana is not a "gateway drug" and does not lead to opioid use, he wrote. There has been no evidence that marijuana leads to long-term brain changes associated with altered behaviors; and alcohol abuse can contribute to suicide, anxiety and depression as well as cancer, disease, dementia and death, he said.

"To suggest that cannabis is more dangerous than alcohol is incorrect," Adinoff wrote.

It was unclear Friday how the ordinance, if the council affirms its vote this week, could affect the resident-backed campaign to allow retail cannabis sales.

Other items on Tuesday's agenda include:

• Proposed increases to natural gas and electric rates. The municipally-owned Colorado Springs Utilities reviews and adjusts natural gas and electric costs on a quarterly basis to account for changes in the market.

Meeting documents show if the rate changes are approved, the average residential user could see their natural gas costs increase by $5.49 a month, or by roughly 16%. Electric gas costs could increase for residential users by $3.22 a month on average, or 3.3%.

• A second resolution reaffirming Colorado Springs' status as a non-sanctuary city for migrants crossing U.S. borders.

Councilman Brian Risley said Friday he is sponsoring the symbolic resolution in light of recent reported Venezuelan gang activity in Aurora that some officials in that city have said has "significantly affected" apartment complexes there. Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman and Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky this month maintained the gang issue is localized and limited to a few areas.

Risley also pointed to Denver, a declared sanctuary city that this year and last year has handled a large influx of migrants from South and Central America, though the numbers of arriving migrants there have decreased significantly.

Publicly available data show Denver shelters have served more than 42,800 migrants total, with 14 newcomers Friday.

In February, the Colorado Springs City Council passed a first resolution declaring its status as a non-sanctuary city, vowing not to spend taxpayer money on services "related to this crisis" and calling on the federal government to secure the country's borders.

The council passed that resolution after muddled reports early this year that a busload of migrants had arrived in Colorado Springs. Without a strong response plan in place at the time, those reports left people speculating about the number of migrants in Colorado Springs and how the city and El Paso County planned to address a large influx of migrants in the area, Risley said Friday.

"We want to assure our citizens in a proactive manner that we are monitoring the situation in Aurora and affirming our stance that we will not tolerate lawlessness, violence or drug trafficking," Risley said of Tuesday's proposed resolution.

In February, opponents said such resolutions carry no legal weight, but are "fearmongering" documents that can bolster xenophobia and "hateful rhetoric" about immigrants.

Colorado Springs spokeswoman Vanessa Zink said Friday the Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management and community partners continue monitoring capacity at local nonprofit shelters.

The Office of Emergency Management is also in close touch with state officials who have indicated that "sheltering across the region is ready," Zink said. The office, too, monitors publicly available migrant arrival data in Denver, which have declined to low levels.

Tuesday's regular council meeting begins at 10 a.m. at City Hall, 107 N. Nevada Ave. Meetings are also streamed on the council's Facebook page, , or on Springs TV, coloradosprings.gov/springstv .