Longmont officials mull cannabis hospitality

LONGMONT — Cannabis-hospitality businesses aren’t likely to open their doors to marijuana enthusiasts in Longmont anytime soon, but the city took a key step down that path this week. 

Longmont City Council on Tuesday gave city staff the go-ahead to begin work on drafting a cannabis-hospitality ordinance, while providing a handful of recommendations for guardrails. 

Recreational marijuana users have been able to legally purchase and privately consume the product in Colorado for a decade, and state lawmakers set the table in 2019 for local governments to legalize cannabis hospitality businesses. Still, the hospitality industry has largely failed to materialize. 

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In Boulder, city officials and staff spent quite a bit of time last year exploring the concept, but cannabis-hospitality businesses have yet to open in that city. In Denver, businesses of the type have only slightly more success getting off the ground, and only in very limited capacity. 

Longmont officials this week directed city staff to draft an ordinance that would establish a regulatory framework for on-site cannabis-consumption businesses.

But before customers would be able to smoke (or vape or eat) weed inside a Longmont establishment, the ordinance must be drafted, approved, and businesses selected and licensed — a process that is by no means guaranteed to result in operational marijuana-hospitality establishments in Longmont. 

“This is one that’s going to take a little bit of time,” Longmont city manager Harold Dominguez said. 

The size and scope of hospitality businesses were a matter of concern for city officials during a preliminary hearing this week. 

Longmont City Councilmember Marcia Martin said that she would take issue with a “Walmart-scale, a Dave and Busters-scale cannabis consumption facility,” preferring Longmont to only authorize “corner pub”-sized establishments. City Council approved a directive to staff to take into account business footprint when drafting the cannabis-hospitality ordinance.

The number of such business permits was also a concern, with Longmont officials expressing support for a four-license cap on hospitality operations in the city. 

Members of Longmont City Council also directed staff to limit the ordinance to allow only one hospitality license per operator, and to attempt to ensure that the business owners are Longmont locals. 

The draft ordinance, Longmont leaders directed, should prohibit cannabis-hospitality businesses from co-locating with restaurants and should ban consumption on outdoor patio-type areas connected to pot lounges. 

There is no timeline for when a marijuana-hospitality ordinance will be presented to Longmont City Council for comment and a vote.