City delays cannabis zoning ordinance to next meeting

The Tea City Council met Sept. 7 and after discussion on the ordinance that would create zoning regulations for cannabis establishments, they delayed their vote until the Sept. 20 meeting.

Planning and zoning administrator Kevin Nissen said they did not have a lot of changes since the first reading, other than correcting the setback from a school. State law says a cannabis facility must have a 1,000-foot setback from a school. Setbacks from daycares and churches would be 300 feet and the proposed ordinance would allow for two facilities within 500 feet of each other if they apply for a variance.

Councilman Casey Voelker said he wanted the council to have a say every step of the way and wanted to see a conditional use permit with every applicant. He would rather be strict upfront and then more relaxed as everyone gets used to this type of business.

The council decided not to vote on the second reading and asked for the ordinance to be modified to include Voelker’s suggested change. A second reading will be held at the Sept. 20 meeting.

The council approved a variance for a 6-foot tall commercial fence along the north property line for I29 RV. The business had asked for the variance so they could erect a fence for security purposes after some of their campers had been vandalized.

They approved the structural and foundation plan for King Contractor Shops in the Bakker Landing Addition. They also approved the building plans and permit for Scooter’s Coffee. The plans call for a 629-foot coffee shop at 800 Gateway Lane.

The council also approved a plat for lot 1, Titan’s 1st Addition at North Main Avenue and the future Quintin Street for land sale only.

They approved three pay applications for various projects currently going on in the city. They approved $68,370 to Maguire Iron for the 85th Street elevated water storage tank, $728,600.56 to Hulstein Excavating for East First Street and $1,497,580.44 to D & G Concrete for Gateway Boulevard.

HDR engineer Ben Scholtz reported that they had received a change order for Gateway Boulevard for a pipe to be put in along Gateway Boulevard for a property owner. The council approved the change.

The council approved the Lewis & Clark water expansion agreement. The city’s share is about 4.4 percent of the construction cost for the expansion of the water treatment plant.

They also held their first reading of the 2022 appropriations. Finance officer Dawn Murphy noted that they included funds for design work for more fields at the Athletic Complex since they lost two fields at the high school.

Council adjourned at 8:49 p.m.