Cannabis Zoning, Wetlands Conservation Return to Council Agenda
Final Council Meeting of 2024 Set for Thursday, Dec. 5
Among personnel and budget-related items, City Council will continue discussion about the zoning of adult-use recreational marijuana businesses and an effort by the city to acquire 39 acres of wetlands for conservation at its next meeting on Thursday, Dec. 5.
Plans for Pot
On Sept. 26, City Council approved a six-month moratorium on any marijuana facilities in the city until the consulting firm that has been managing the city’s zoning and planning code rewrite could make specific recommendations.
During Council’s Nov. 7 meeting, Planning Director Zach Cowan presented those recommendations, which included allowing marijuana to be dispensed, grown, tested and processed on commercial and industrial parcels that met current state restrictions as well as guidelines taken from other local communities, including:
No cannabis facility within 1-mile of another cannabis facility, which would effectively limit the City of Stow to having two or three marijuana shops;
No cannabis facility within 1,000 feet of the end boundaries of the lot on which the cannabis facility would be located to the end boundaries of lots on which a school, church, public library, public playground, public park, or opioid treatment facility are located or proposed;
No outdoor storage of products or materials;
No outdoor sales of marijuana;
No drive-thru sales.
The initially proposed guidelines would have allowed marijuana businesses to be established primarily in the Northwest quadrant of the city in Ward 4, on commercial- and industrial-zoned parcels along Commerce Drive, Hudson Drive, McCauley Rd., Allen Rd., Steels Corners Rd. and Seasons Rd. Additionally, the guidelines would have allowed marijuana operations to be established in the Southeast corner of Ward 1, on a parcel on N. River Road across from Roses Run golf course, as well as along Kent Rd., near the intersections of Marsh Rd. and Fishcreek Rd.
Council referred the matter to the Planning Commission, which approved the zoning guidelines on Nov. 12 with one additional stipulation: that the businesses not be located within 1,000 feet of any residential district.
That limitation would further restrict the location of marijuana businesses so that none could be sited in the Ward 1 areas previously identified and would further restrict the locations in Ward 4 to a smaller area encompassing Seasons Rd. from Prosper Drive to Rt. 8, as well as specific parcels along Allen Rd. and McCauley Rd. As a result of that additional restriction, it is more than likely that there could only be one marijuana business in the city in order to meet the requirement that cannabis businesses be located 1-mile apart.
“Stow residents voted decisively last year to regulate cannabis like alcohol,” said Councilman At-Large Kyle Herman. “Most of our residents, especially younger residents, understand that cannabis is healthier than alcohol or tobacco and has legitimate medicinal purposes.”
Ohio voters approved Issue 2 to make the sale and use of recreational marijuana legal in Nov. 2023. Stow voters approved that measure with 57% voting in favor.
The legislation is on Council’s Planning Committee agenda for discussion on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 5:30 pm, which means the full presentation of the legislation and related conversation will occur during that meeting. The meeting will include a public comment period. See the proposed legislation.
Round 2 for Wetlands Conservation Effort
After being rebuffed by two councilman, who prevented the city from applying for a grant in September, the administration is going back for round two to try to secure grant funding for the acquisition of wetlands off of Steels Corners Rd near Wyndham Ridge.
At City Council’s last meeting on Nov. 7, the administration submitted a resolution that would allow the city to partner with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy to seek grants to cover the cost of buying a 39-acre parcel along Mud Brook.
Jacob Pries, the Southeast Field Director for the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, said the organization noticed the land for sale and identified it as a great conservation opportunity, with wetlands along Mud Brook, an old growth forest and abundant wildlife. The non-profit organization contacted the city about acquiring the property as Stow already owns land adjacent to this parcel and offered to assist in finding grants to pay for the project.
Councilman At-Large Jeremy McIntire clarified his position on why he was one of two votes (Ward 4 Councilman Mario Fiocca was the other) that prevented the administration from proceeding with a grant proposal for this property in September.
“The administration knew about that grant well before, they had plenty of time to bring it before council,” he claimed. “All too often, it seems like things come last minute before council. We’re talking about the future use as a park, but I don’t see anything in the parks master plan where this has even been a priority of the administration for the future of our park system.”
He questioned why the administration would ask for a blanket resolution allowing the land conservancy to act on the city’s behalf to search for grants (that would likely still require council’s approval), rather than bring specific grant requests to council for approval as was done and rejected by he and Fiocca in September.
“Bring the grants to us that you’re considering and the criteria. Provide a little more information. Last one was a very specific detailed grant that you wanted to apply for, so why would this be any different?” he asked. He also questioned why the resolution did not have a time limit on it, why it would allow the city to continue applying for grants until it had raised enough money to buy the property.
Pries explained the reason for the blanket resolution request.
“The reason for the blanket resolution, it’s more of a statement from the city that they’re on board to partner with us on this. It makes it really difficult for us to move forward without a nice partnership, right?” he said. “This is an opportunity for the city to say ‘Look, we’re in this, we believe this is a good idea, and please apply for grants on our behalf.”
“Oftentimes, with cities and municipalities, there are grants that we cannot apply for as a non-profit, but municipalities can,” Pries continued. “(Partnering with Stow) opens up numerous grant funding sources.”
Pries said the purchase agreement that it negotiated with the landowner will expire next summer, creating a timeline and some urgency for proceeding.
McIntire asked Pries to put together a list of grants that are available, their criteria and application details for council to review at its next meeting on Dec. 5.
Ward 1 Councilman Matt Riehl questioned whether the land could be purchased and developed by someone who would continue paying the approximately $3,000 in property taxes to the county. Because municipalities do not pay property tax, acquisition of the land by the City of Stow would cause Summit County and the various agencies and organizations that are funded through property taxes to lose that income.
Planning Director Zack Cowan said a small portion of the land could be developed currently without the need for wetlands mitigation.
Councilman Herman explained the benefit of approving the resolution:
"The wetlands and woods around Mud Brook to the west of Route 8 are one of the largest green spaces left in Stow, despite dense residential development around them in recent years. The City of Stow already owns a portion of that land, but it is difficult to access,” he said in an interview for this story.
“Partnering with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy would allow the City to apply for grants to grow its land assets at no cost to taxpayers so that area and its wildlife can be protected from further encroachment, and would open the possibility for the City to eventually create a park with trails in easy walking distance from hundreds of residents.”
The resolution will have its second reading at council’s main meeting at 7 pm on Thursday, Dec. 5. A public comment period will be held at the start of the meeting. Typically, legislation gets a reading at three consecutive meetings of council before being voted on, unless council votes to bypass that process to vote on a measure immediately. See the proposed resolution.
Other City Business
City Council has a number of other items on its agenda for this week’s meeting, including:
Stow Chief of Police Jeff Film has requested the addition of an additional police officer to help staff the department for a planned transition to 12-hour shift schedules in 2025. In prior council meetings, Chief Film indicted that it had become more challenging for Stow to hire replacement officers with its traditional 8-hour shift schedules as many prospective officers view the 12-hour shifts that other communities offer as being more desirable.
The city has requested approval of a $35,200 contract with an architectural firm to rehabilitate the Stow Heritage House Museum, which was badly damaged by a fire.
Consideration of the city’s annual budget.
A zoning change that would allow garden fences to be erected in front yards will have its second reading. This legislation was developed at the request of a resident on Kent Rd. who otherwise would have been required to remove his garden fence from his yard. A public hearing of this zoning change will take place on Jan. 9 at 5 pm in council chambers.
Council President Cyle Feldman has sponsored legislation that would establish city protocols for actions to be taken in the event of the death of an elected city official or former mayor.
Council will vote on the mayor’s requested reappointments of seven Stow residents to several volunteer commissions. In 2022 and 2023, City Council, led by then-president Jeremy McIntire, rejected numerous mayoral appointments with no explanation. See background story.
