Byron says no to County pot license

The city of Byron is expected to have at least one business with a cannabis license when licenses are distributed by the State in 2025, after the city council nixed a proposal by Olmsted County to be part of its licensing mechanism.

Under the legislation passed in 2023, which legalized and regulated cannabis, each community could put restrictions on the number of licenses it would allow with the caveat being that a city would need to allow a minimum of one per 12,5000 people.

Olmsted County decided to create one license mechanism for any community in the county that chooses to be part of it, essentially meaning the licenses would be split up and not requiring any city to necessarily have one.

“Olmsted County has 14 cannabis licenses available to issue based on population and minimum requirements implemented by the State. Olmsted County is requesting a resolution of intent from each jurisdiction within Olmsted County,” City Administrator Al Roder wrote in a memo. “If Byron does not delegate licensing to Olmsted County we will need to implement a cannabis license ordinance detailing how we plan to manage this function, including age compliance checks, registration fees, selection system to be utilized and registering cannabis special events.”

Roder said if the city council chose to opt in with Olmsted County, it would be choosing to “delegate this responsibility to the County,” and the County “becomes responsible for these functions.”

“The City will lose a voice over the number of cannabis businesses within the City and approval of cannabis special events,” Roder said.

With Byron’s population it will be required to allow at least one license, which are expected to be awarded by the State in the coming months.

Roder said the city will need to update its “zoning code to reflect appropriate locations for cannabis related businesses.”

“Currently all municipalities are governed by Olmsted County Public Health regulations, however, Byron is not governed by Olmsted County zoning regulations due to already having our own zoning code in place,” Roder said.

According to Roder, Rochester is the only other city in the county, which opted out of joining Olmsted County’s licensing mechanism.