What was expected to be a clear-cut vote on a temporary marijuana club ban will be put off for at least two more weeks in Windsor.
The town board pulled the item from Monday’s meeting agenda before it could even be discussed. Board member Robert Bishop-Cotner made the motion to table the ordinance, urging instead that the vote on the temporary ban be made with a full, seven-person board rather than the five who were present Monday.
“We need to table this,” he said simply. He was joined by Mayor Pro-Tem Kristie Melendez and Ivan Adams.
Mayor John Vazquez and board member Myles Baker were absent Monday.
The emergency ordinance would have required a five-person super majority vote in order to become effective. Board member Jeremy Rose was absent during the previous week’s lively marijuana discussion and could have voted against the temporary ban Monday, making the five-person super majority impossible. By tabling the ordinance until a sixth or seventh member is present, the emergency action does still stand to pass.
Vazquez adamantly supported halting the marijuana industry before it could get any roots in the community during the initial discussion. Board member Myles Baker had previously said he was in support of a temporary ban while the state and other jurisdictions work out the kinks.
Though the board won’t formally decide this part of pot’s fate until at least Feb. 11 — the next regular meeting date — no other enterprises will be allowed to set up because a Colorado marijuana licensing structure is still in the development stage. The state is expected to begin issuing retail pot shop licenses by Oct. 1, which is also when communities must decide to what extent the industry will — or will not — be permitted.
Any town ordinances could only apply to the retail sales, distribution and the town’s commercial property — the most important element in the eyes of town attorney Ian McCargar.
The voter-approved amendment to the Colorado’s constitution decriminalized the recreational use and growth of limited amounts of marijuana for adults older than 21 years old.
