City officials discuss cannabis ordinance

Tucumcari city commissioners discussed the city’s apparently flawed cannabis ordinance with an attorney who flagged it during a two-hour work session Thursday and will convene for a special work session next week to approve the amended law by late January.

The special work session is scheduled for 4 p.m. Dec. 29, according to a notice filed Friday by City Clerk Anjelica Gray. She said the city commission can hold its first reading of the amended ordinance on Jan. 13, then a second reading Jan. 27 for final passage.

Commissioners were dismayed to learn during a previous meeting this month an oversight by the city attorney, Randall Van Vleck of Santa Fe, with the ordinance disallows any sort of legal cannabis sales in the city.

New Mexico officials have stated it wants recreational marijuana to be sold in the state no later than April 1, though the state approved it first licenses last week. All three were producer licenses in Aztec, Edgewood and Albuquerque.

Van Vleck was not part of the work session Thursday.

During the work session by teleconference with Santa Fe attorney Jared Najjar, who alerted city officials about the ordinance’s problems during a recent New Mexico Municipal League workshop, commissioners learned of one section of that essentially bars cannabis sales in Tucumcari.

Under the operational requirements section, Part C states: “There shall be no processing, curing, drying, selling, storage, or other display of cannabis or cannabis products at a cannabis establishment.”

Gray surmised a couple of words were inadvertently deleted from that section. Commissioners who had worked on the ordinance for months expressed befuddlement about the passage, which Najjar recommended deleting.

“I’m not sure how that got in there,” Mayor Pro Tem Todd Duplantis said.

Najjar recommended amending sections that require 150 feet of distance between cannabis businesses from churches. He said other businesses are not required to undergo such rules, and such restrictions might violate the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. He said the only restrictions that probably would stand up to legal scrutiny are 300-foot requirements from schools and daycare centers.

“My advice is to stick as closely to the (state’s) Cannabis Regulation Act as possible,” he said, so the city can avoid lawsuits.

Najjar also recommended city law enforcement personnel to undergo annual training regarding cannabis because such laws will evolve.

Najjar said amending the ordinance should be sufficient, but he noted the changes are “substantive” and thus would require public hearings and notices.

Commissioners noted a possible problem with zoning. At least two possible businesses — including one on Mountain Road that Gray said may invest $2 million in its facility — have applied for integrated licenses to grow and sell marijuana on the premises. Growing of marijuana is allowed only in agricultural zones and possibly not in commercial zones. Commissioner Christopher Arias said the city needs to clarify that issue and be “business friendly.”

Commissioner Ralph Moya said the city has to be fair to prospective businesses who’ve invested money here, but added: “We have to be responsible to our residents.” He expressed concern that too many marijuana dispensaries along the Route 66 corridor might hurt its atmosphere and history, but Gray noted there are only two applicants so far along that stretch.

Moya also urged another special session to amend the ordinance before the new year. Duplantis agreed, saying he wanted to resolve those issues before he leaves office in January. Duplantis, who did not run for re-election after five years in the seat, will be replaced by Scott Cherry.

Comments

During the commissioner comment portion of the regular meeting:

• Moya again urged City Manager Mark Martinez to do something about weed-infested properties, including the closed KFC restaurant on First Street, 501 S. Third St., and Rock Island Street tracts at Main Street and Hines Avenue. He said the city should seize such properties and auction them.

• Duplantis fielded well-wishes and compliments from fellow commissioners during his last official meeting, and he received a plaque of appreciation.

Other action

Commissioners took these actions Thursday:

• Approved an amendment to an engineering services agreement with CDM Smith regarding the Tucumcari wastewater reuse improvement project. Martinez said the design phase took longer than anticipated, and the city will not incur any additional costs.

• Approved a 2022 employee calendar that adds a new federal holiday of Juneteenth, which is June 19. Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of African-American slaves in 1865.