Rochester leans toward limiting cannabis business licenses

ROCHESTER – City officials here are definitely not high on the upcoming wave of cannabis business licenses coming to Minnesota next year.

The Rochester City Council is leaning toward setting the mandatory minimum number of allowable licenses in the community once it’s legal to sell cannabis products in March ― about 10 licenses. Council members took no formal action during a meeting Monday, but they expect a formal proposal limiting licenses over the next two months.

City officials brought a number of proposals before council members Monday, ranging from the legal minimum — keeping in line with Minnesota’s formula of at least one license for every 12,500 people — to more than the 14-license limit Olmsted County is proposing.

Having more licenses would open up the market in town, but it would also cost the city considerably more to enforce the rules. Fewer licenses would allow the city to pawn off enforcement to Olmsted County, but it would mean other cities may have to accept cannabis businesses — cities and counties can’t outright ban cannabis businesses, which means any extra licenses under Olmsted County’s limits would be approved.

Rochester officials also said fewer licenses could incentivize more businesses to operate outside the law.

“There is a real possibility of them selling cannabis products and undermining the market anyway,” Deputy City Clerk Christiaan Cartwright told the council.

Most of the council and even Mayor Kim Norton supported licensing as few businesses as possible — only Council Member Molly Dennis agreed with Rochester staff’s recommendation to match Olmsted County’s proposed limit at 14.

“My ideal number would be zero,” Council Member Norman Wahl said. “The next ideal number would be 10.”

Wahl said he was also concerned over local business practices, citing safety regulations and proper testing in up-and-running tribal nation dispensaries.

Council President Brooke Carlson appeared to agree, saying the city setting its limit at 14 licenses to match the county seemed “a little bit high.”

Yet some council members disagreed over whether Rochester should allow Olmsted County to enforce licensing requirements. Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick argued Olmsted County has struggled in the past to deal with substance abuse complaints, citing ongoing difficulties she’s had reporting fentanyl use at a local gas station.

“The enforcement piece to this is really important to me,” Kirkpatrick. “This is a very useful biomedicine but it can be abused.”

Norton said she favored limiting the number of cannabis businesses at first to measure what kind of impact they would have on the community.

“Adding this really makes me nervous,” she said. “It’s hard for me to watch this happening, while I know it’s very popular in the community.”