On September 24, 2018, following a public hearing, the City Commission passed Resolution No. 20490, annexing and incorporating within the boundaries of the City of Helena the wholly surrounded area east of Granite Street, South of Highway 12 West, and generally west of the existing city limits. The annexation of this wholly surrounded area will become effective December 1, 2018. A medical marijuana dispensary currently operates within the area affected by Resolution No. 20490.
Medical marijuana dispensaries and grow operations are permitted under the laws of the State of Montana. However, the City’s business licensing ordinance, adopted in 1926 and codified in Section 4-1-11 of the Helena City Code, states “Prohibited Occupations Not to be Licensed: No provision herein contained shall be construed so as to license any trade, business, occupation, vocation, pursuit, profession or entertainment prohibited by any law of the United States or this state or by any provision of this code.” As a result, because the sale and growing of medical marijuana remains illegal under federal law, the City’s ordinance prohibits the issuance of a business license to medical marijuana dispensaries or grow operations.
A business cannot legally operate within the City without a business license. See § 4-1-9 HCC (“No person shall conduct, operate, transact, engage in, or carry on any of the industries, trades, pursuits, professions, vocations, or businesses within the city hereinafter specified and enumerated, without first applying for and obtaining a license as herein provided, and if such application for license is granted, shall pay the required fee.”); § 4-1-16-18(A) HCC (“No person shall conduct, operate, transact, engage in or carry on any business within the city without first applying for and obtaining a license therefor from the city, as herein provided, and if such application is granted, shall pay therefor as hereinafter provided. Except that the requirements of this section shall not apply to persons or entities with no base of operations in Lewis and Clark County who exclusively deal with and contact licensed businesses only by salesmen, telephone or mail.”). As a result, at present, there are no medical marijuana dispensaries or grow operations located within the City of Helena city limits.
In addition, although pre-existing nonconforming land uses are permitted pursuant to the City’s zoning laws, See Title 11 Chapter 6, no such allowance is made under the City’s business licensing laws. Thus, a nonconforming business use may continue in a zoning district where it is now prohibited, but that business would still be required to obtain a business license to continue its operations.
Thus, the medical marijuana dispensary that is located within the soon-to-be annexed wholly surrounded area, would not be permitted to legally continue operating the business and would be required to either discontinue operation or to relocate the business because city staff is prohibited from issuing such a city business license to this business by operation of § 4-1-11 HCC.
The City Commission has expressed interest in considering either repealing or amending section 4-1-11 of the Helena City Code to potentially allow medical marijuana dispensaries and grow operations within the city limits. However, the City Commission recognizes that it is unable to take final action on this question prior to Resolution No. 20490 taking affect.
|