“When the governor calls and says, ‘Would you consider taking a look at this?”The County Council will be open to any idea when the Governor calls and asks, ‘Would you consider taking a look at this?
By Maggie Reynolds, Spotlight Delaware
Sussex County Council may consider relaxing its strict restrictions regarding recreational marijuana sales. These are among the most stringent in the entire state. This comes after Gov. Matt Meyer (D).
Council members are expected to consider changes in the marijuana zoning law for the county later this fall. They will reduce the required distance between a marijuana shop and the town border, or a church, school, etc.
The proposed ordinance change–and Meyer’s request that county leaders consider it–comes two months after recreational marijuana sale was legalized in Delaware. This follows the decision made by Governor Carney earlier this year to veto legislation that would have restricted individual county’s ability to regulate marijuana establishment operations.
“When the governor calls and says, ‘Would you consider taking a look at this?The County Council has an open mind, said Sussex County Administrator Todd Lawson to Spotlight Delaware.
Sussex was historically the most strict of Delaware’s 3 counties when it came to marijuana laws. The proposed changes to its ordinance would align the region’s southernmost part with the rest the state.
The Governor’s nudging
Senate Bill 75 was passed by the legislature in June. It limits restrictions that each county can place on marijuana-related businesses. Meyer’s surprising reversal from initially supporting the bill was his veto of SB 75 on August. Meyer claimed that the local decisions about land use should be up to counties.
Lawson said that after Meyer’s veto, he asked Sussex County officials to review the county’s existing marijuana zone ordinance. This had been in force since 2024.
Vince Robertson (assistant county attorney) presented a proposed ordinance to the County Council in September. The change would have reduced the distance from a dispensary to any town border to just half a mile.
It will also enable dispensaries in commercial zones with a lower density to be open. At the moment, dispensaries are allowed only in heavy-commercial zones, for example along Route 1
Robertson, who spoke at the meeting on September 23, said that council members were also looking at reducing the 3 mile separation required between marijuana dispensaries, schools, churches and substance abuse treatment centers. However, the details of the proposed ordinance will only be discussed at public hearings.
New Castle County allows dispensaries to be located in commercial zones at least one mile away from existing dispensaries and 1,000 feet away from sensitive areas, such as schools or churches. Kent County doesn’t have any specific regulations for retail marijuana, and therefore, they are treated as other retail shops in the county code. County Planning Director Sarah Kiefer explained.
All three newly elected members of the County Council–Matt Lloyd, Steve McCarron and Jane Gruenebaum–each expressed early support for the proposed ordinance change when asked by Spotlight Delaware. Spotlight Delaware did not receive any comments from Vice President John Rieley or Council President Douglas Hudson.
McCarron operates a nearby restaurant to Fresh Dispensary, in Seaford. He was impressed by its professionalism and security. It changed his mind about retail marijuana stores in the county.
He added, “They are a wonderful neighbor”. I can’t praise them enough.
Gruenebaum is for the change in the law because it will bring marijuana regulations closer to distance restrictions that apply at liquor stores.
According to the state code, liquor stores can be placed in any commercial zone. Robertson, at the council meeting on September 23, said that they must consider churches, schools, and drug abuse facilities when placing them, but currently there are no distance requirements for liquor retail stores.
Sussex County Planning and Zoning will hold a public hearing to discuss the proposed marijuana ordinance on October 15, 2015.
The Town Authority
The marijuana ordinance is applicable to the entire county, including the unincorporated areas. However, every town in the county can set its own regulations for retail marijuana.
Seaford, Georgetown, and Frankford are the only three towns that have not banned retail marijuana.
Seaford changed its regulations late in August to allow Fresh Dispensary – which has been only operating for medical sales from 2023 – to start recreational sales on October 4.
Justin Weisser is the owner of Fresh Delaware. The store also has stores in Newark, Milford and Seaford. He said he’s happy that they are now doing recreational sales in Seaford.
Weisser explained, “We are not very busy in the medical field.” The store is not making any money at the moment.
He added that the state encouraged Weisser’s company to establish a medical marijuana facility in Seaford, as there were no other dispensaries of medical marijuana in Western Sussex County.
The Town of Frankford did not pass an ordinance to regulate retail marijuana. This allowed The Farm Dispensary, owned by Jen Stark, to open its medical and recreational shop within the town’s limits on Monday July 31.
Stark explained that so far the majority of business at the store is recreational, as people are still getting established on the patient list.
Sheldon Hudson, the Frankford Town manager described his town as “salmon” swimming upstream if compared with the rest of Sussex County.
Hudson, however, said that he hopes The Farm’s presence in the town will increase foot traffic and, as a result, bring additional businesses into the city.
He said, “We are looking at this as a part of broader economic growth.”
Bill West, the Mayor of Georgetown, said that Georgetown is the first town in Sussex County, to have legalized recreational marijuana. The city passed an ordinance in the summer 2024 allowing retail sales after the new state regulations came into force.
Businesses and community responses
There are also two recreational marijuana shops outside municipal limits near Lewes Beach or Rehoboth Beach. Retail marijuana is illegal in all eastern Sussex beaches towns.
The management staff of Columbia Care Rehoboth has described recreational sales, added to the medical sales they have been making since 2019, as being a huge positive for Sussex County Residents.
“The community as a whole has been extremely responsive, curious–it’s a whole experience,” Supervisor of Retail Operations Sherri Kohler said.
Kohler stated that the store is located in the Tanger Outlets, on the western side of Route 1. It has been a popular destination for both tourists and residents.
Lindsay Lopez, manager of the retail operation at the store, says that the addition of the retail department has allowed it to almost double the number of its employees.
Lopez stated that the project creates jobs for those who are passionate about it and gives them a way to reach out to their community.
Thrive Dispensary near Lewes on Route 9 also began recreational sales in August. Emily Wilkins is the vice president for compliance and quality at the Thrive Dispensary. She said that if the proposed changes to the zoning laws are implemented, she will be willing to expand to another Sussex County location.
The Sussex County Ordinance will not apply to the Columbia Care and Thrive stores until 2024. This is because both Columbia Care and Thrive started operating before that date.
Wilkins described herself as a “western Sussex native and bred” but said that she did not think the marijuana laws in Sussex County matched the attitudes of residents towards marijuana.
She stated, “I’m not sure that what is happening in the Government right now matches the mood of the public.”
Spotlight Delaware was the first to publish this story.
Side Pocket Images. Photo by Chris Wallis.