Aldermen discuss city marijuana, clean Belle

By Roxie Murphy, Staff Writer
Posted 3/18/20

BELLE — Belle Board of Aldermen received a response from Bev Abel on the city’s Planning and Zoning Committee March 10 about a marijuana cultivation and sale ordinance.

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Aldermen discuss city marijuana, clean Belle

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BELLE — Belle Board of Aldermen received a response from Bev Abel on the city’s Planning and Zoning Committee March 10 about a marijuana cultivation and sale ordinance.

Belle Mayor Josh Seaver told the board at the Feb. 11 meeting that he and City Court Clerk Barb Schaller wanted to get ahead of the game by having one ready.

“We had to be in compliance with the state as far as Marijuana laws,” Abel told the board on behalf of the Planning and Zoning Committee. “You can be no closer than 500 feet to a school, pre-school or a church, but this one gets me — no further away than 1,000 feet.”

Abel said she wasn’t sure why on that last requirement, so they stayed within 500 feet on some things for the ordinance. When it came to manufacturing or growing the product, the facility had to have a certain amount of air quality control.

“We figured if that failed, we wouldn’t want it close to anything,” Abel said. “So we kept that at 1,000 feet. If you all want to change all the numbers to 1,000 feet, this was just trying to give you an idea.”

Abel shared the Planning and Zoning Committee’s recommendations for the ordinance.

“No medical marijuana dispensaries shall be located within 750 feet of an existing elementary, secondary school, daycare or church,” Abel said. “If you want it to be 1,000 feet, we can do that, this was just our suggestion. You can’t get any closer than 500 feet from these structures, but no farther away than 1,000 feet.”

She added that she and Barb Schaller looked into larger towns and cities that had already seen development of the marijuana industry and were in compliance with the state.

“This is based off of other cities who have done it already, and it cannot be in a residence at all,” Abel said. “This is very specific though about a church, daycare or schools.”

Alderman Ken Stanfield said he would like to see the requirements be at least 1,000 feet away from any of the mentioned existing structures. Abel said the Planning and Zoning Board would be fine with that and showed the board where they would need to make changes to the suggested ordinance.

“We have to be in compliance, but we were told that we could only have one factory for every 32,000 people, and right now Vianna has one,” Abel said. “I don’t think any will end up here, but we do have to be in compliance for the state of Missouri.”

Vienna has a cultivation facility they are establishing which has been reported on in The Advocate.

Seaver told the board he would send the suggested ordinance to the city’s attorney Mary Weston for approval.

Abel handed the board a second ordinance they would like to see implemented that would force property owners to maintain their properties.

“We would like to improve Belle,” Abel began. “This is what we are looking at: if a house has a broken window, they need to be told a broken window has to be fixed, broken guttering has to be fixed, a garage door that is broken, not working, has to be fixed, siding falling off has to be fixed.”

Abel said if they continue to let these issues go, then the value of the other homes in the neighborhood drop.

“Even mold has to be cleaned off of the side of the house,” Abel said. “This is something you can look at and read over. We looked at other towns to see what they require and what they expect.”

Fallen screen doors, cardboard and plywood for windows would all be against the ordinance. Some of the suggestions are already in the city’s ordinance book.

“The main thing we have to worry about, is it being enforced?” Abel asked.

Alderman Courtney Abel asked if it wouldn’t be easier to have a set fine for these offenses? Then after so many certified letters are sent out, will the property owner receive a fine?

“Then after so long, you would put a tax lien on their property,” Courtney Abel said. “Instead of sending an officer over there to take pictures? I mean you see it, a city worker sees it, snaps a picture, somebody can be responsible for sending out a certified letter. You don’t have to go to court. You are going to get fined.”

Courtney Abel told Abel she thought going the certified mail route would be easier than having an officer track people down. It would be the landlord’s responsibility to fix the residence in instances where the property has renters.

“And you would know that they received the certified letter because they would have to sign for it,” Abel said. “You are not knocking on a door leaving a note saying the property is not in compliance and hoping they get it.”

Courtney Abel said they could try that first and see if the resident responds before wasting money on a certified letter, if the city wanted to do that.

“If everybody really wanted this stuff cleaned up, forget going to court, set an ordinance and fine them,” Courtney Abel said.

Courtney Abel said the windows and other trash lying about yards in town isn’t safe.

“How much time will you give these people to fix whatever they need to?” Stanfield asked.

Abel said it would depend on what it is. If they work, they may not be able to get to it right away.

“I think it ought to be reasonable, but if we give them a certain amount of time and they have not even attempted to try anything, then this is where we need to go,” Able said.

Belinda Branson noted that the tall grass warning is 10 days, and if nothing is done, the resident is fined. Courtney Abel agreed, and in that case, the property owner would receive a ticket, but that is a long process. Under the new ordinance, if the property owner had 10 days and did nothing, they would receive a fine.

“It is much easier and would cost the city a lot less money and wasting an officer’s time when they are supposed to be out patrolling the streets,” Courtney Abel said.

Abel added that it is not just grass in the ordinance but piles of rock and dirt that are sitting there and nothing is being done.

“With the grass, they have 10 days to mow after they receive the letter, then they get a fine?” Abel asked.

“No, then they have 30 days, then they receive a ticket, then they have to appear in court and it is up to the judge,” Courtney Abel said. “It could go on for three months. It’s a problem.”

Courtney Abel said any place where you travel that is nice, this is the type of ordinances they have.

“I guess this is what we need to do to make people responsible,” Abel said.

Courtney Abel said they have gotten nowhere with issuing a summons.

The board agreed to revisit the ordinance with suggestions at the April meeting.