Star City not happy with BOH delay
The Monongalia County Board of Health has scheduled a special meeting for 8 a.m. Thursday to discuss proposed regulations regarding medical cannabis dispensaries.
The special meeting comes about two weeks after the board hung the regulations at the Monongalia County Courthouse for public comment.
The regulations have come under scrutiny as Monongalia County is the only West Virginia county with dispensary permits still pending as the state begins the process of reviewing and selecting the 100 dispensary vendors and locations.
Of the 35 counties to receive dispensary permit applications, 33 approved and one, Mercer County, initially denied though recent media reports indicate the Mercer County Board of Health intends to reexamine the issue.
The proposed regulations have also come under fire for being far more restrictive than what is laid out in state code, prompting many to question if the board of health has the authority to essentially rewrite state law and impose county-wide land use restrictions.
In a letter to the Monongalia County Health Department, Star City Mayor Herman Reid said both he and the town’s elected council are “extremely disappointed” in the board’s actions.
“We vehemently opposed your attempt to enact and enforce zoning laws in municipalities that can govern in their jurisdiction without imposition from your office.”
Further, Morgantown Communications Director Andrew Stacy said the city proactively passed zoning code amendments tied to cannabis dispensaries back in 2018.
“City administration does not have any concerns,” Stacy said when asked about the placement of dispensaries in the city.
Stacy went on to say that Interim Police Chief Eric Powell has noted, “there is nothing to suggest that these dispensaries would cause any issues with respect to law enforcement.”
Monongalia County Sheriff Perry Palmer said he’s taking a wait-and-see approach, noting “it’s never happened here, so I can’t really answer that.”
“Any laws that are put out, be it city, county or state, we’re going to enforce it. That’s our first priority,” Palmer said.
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