Legislative and Ordinance Committee

CITY OF MARSHALL LEGISLATIVE & ORDINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES Tuesday, August 6, 2025 MEMBERS PRESENT: James Lozinski, See Moua-Leske and Amanda Schwartz(remote) MEMBERS ABSENT: None. STAFF PRESENT: Sharon Hanson, City Administrator; Pamela Whitmore, City Attorney (remote); Jason Anderson, Director of Public Works/ City Engineer; Ilya Gutman, Plans Examiner; and Steven Anderson, City Clerk. OTHERS PRESENT: None. At 8:30 AM Chair Lozinski called the meeting to order. Consider Approval of the Minutes Motion made by Moua-Leske, seconded by Schwartz to approve the minutes as presented. All voted in favor. Ordinance Repealing and Replacing Division 86-VI-2 Signs and Amending Section 86-1 Definitions Gutman explained the current City Sign Ordinance was adopted in 1976 and has had very minor changes made more than 25 years ago. It is outdated and does not cover many newer sign types (digital signs), which created ambiguity in the process, was restrictive in allowed signage area, and was difficult to follow. Staff wanted to simplify the ordinance and give it a good refresh. Whitmore also noted that the ordinance was comprehensive but was mostly based on the content of the signs which was unconstitutional. The revised Ordinance included all existing sign-related definitions, but the definitions would be moved out of the Chapter definition section (Sec. 86-1) to have all sign-related information in one place. The new ordinance also expanded the list of signs not requiring a sign permit and included requirements for LED signs. Changes were also made to the way maximum signage for a property was calculated, which hopefully would make it much easier for people to understand; it also gave additional allowances for properties located on extra-large lots and/or facing divided highways. In general, the City’s proposed sign ordinance would be less restrictive than sign ordinances of comparable cities. Additionally, Section 86-1 Definitions were reviewed and updated, by deleting all sign-related definitions that were moved under section 86-181, adding definitions for some terms used in the ordinance but were never properly defined, and amending some other definitions to make them more clear, concise, and consistent among themselves. Motion made by Moua-Leske, seconded by Schwartz to recommend the amendments be brought to city council for consideration. Cannabis Amendments Whitmore provided background on the changes. The Office of Cannabis Management had changed their process for licensing and would not issue a final license until all local zoning confirmation, inspection and registration had occurred. Our current ordinance requires that registration could only be given after an active license has been issued by OCM. As it stands currently, the City of Marshall would be unable to issue a cannabis retail registration because OCM will would not issue an active license without registration from the local municipality first. During the last legislative session the law was amended to allow local municipalities to issue a registration to a preliminarily approve or qualified applicant. As such, the city ordinance would need to be amended to account for the change in state law. The eleven Minnesota Tribes have also been working on compacts with the state to be allowed up to eight off-reservation cannabis dispensaries that would not count as part of a cities registration maximums. The members discussed the number of tribes and how many stores could be in total in Marshall. Whitmore clarified that each tribal compact may be different but the current compact with the White Earth Nation allows one retail location per city and three per county. Until the other compacts are finalized no one really knows how many tribal dispensaries one city may end up with. Hanson temporarily jumped to Item 4. Cannabis Retail Distance and queried the committee about revisiting distance regulations from parks for cannabis retail stores. The group talked about possibly targeting specific parks and the public  Legislative & Ordinance Committee May 27, 2025 Minutes Page 2 of 2 perception of having a cannabis store adjacent to The Splash aquatic center. Members requested that the city clerk look at other cities’ ordinances and the buffers that are in place and to report back to the committee. Motion made by Schwartz, seconded by Moua-Leske to recommend the amendments to Chapter 22 Article VIII be brought to city council for consideration. All voted in favor. Adjournment Motion by Schwartz, seconded by Moua-Leske to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor. Respectfully submitted, Steven Anderson City Clerk