Wilmington City Council Postpones Zoning Regulations for Recreational Marijuana Industry
The Wilmington City Council has put on hold a zoning measure that would have restricted the legal recreational marijuana industry in the city. The decision comes as council members seek more time to consider the options. In addition to the proposed moratorium on retail marijuana sales, an outright ban on sales is also being considered.
The zoning plan, which was pulled from a city council committee meeting, aimed to regulate the industry by setting buffers between marijuana businesses and residential areas and schools. However, some community members expressed concerns about the potential impact of legal recreational cannabis on their neighborhoods.
Council member Maria Cabrera, who sponsored the measure, stated that council members need more time to “evaluate options.” Council member Nathan Field is set to introduce an ordinance prohibiting retail marijuana sales within the city limits during the regular City Council meeting on November 21.
The decision comes over a year after Delaware legalized recreational marijuana in April 2023. The city’s failure to act on the zoning regulations has sparked concerns among residents and community leaders, who have called for buffers as wide as 1,000 feet between the industry and residential areas and schools.
The proposed zoning regulations included a 100-foot buffer around K-12 schools and residential areas and doubled the radius buffer between the same type of marijuana businesses to nearly a half-mile. However, the plan was scrapped in favor of a new proposal that would have placed 300-foot buffers around residential areas and schools.
