Erie approves ballot language that would allow marijuana sales

ERIE — Residents in Erie will get the opportunity to vote in November on whether they want marijuana sales in the community. 

After years of maintaining the town ban on sales, the Erie Town Council this week put the initial stamp of approval on a ballot language that could allow pot sales for residents to vote on.

Now that the Town Council has approved the language, a draft ordinance will go to the town’s Planning Commission in August, where it will have a public hearing. If the Planning Commission approves, it comes back to the council for another public hearing.

“The ordinance, even if adopted, it will not pass unless the voters vote for the excise tax,” Amy Teetzal, director of administrative operations for Erie, told the council. “We will not allow it until the excise tax measure ballot measure passes. And it would go into effect January 1, 2025.”

The ballot question asks voters to approve a 5% excise tax on the sale of marijuana in town. Per state law, the amount to be collected must be a part of the language. In this case, the ballot measure states that excise tax could collect $800,000 in the first year, but Erie officials do not believe they will collect that much.

Attorney Nick Hartman explained to the council earlier this month that they had to overshoot the estimate because Colorado’s TABOR amendment requires the return of anything in excess of that initial amount to the residents.

But, even if the measure passed, the ordinance at this point would only allow two stores of no greater than 5,000 square feet within town limits. Those stores would have to be at least 1,000 feet away from any school activity (not just the buildings) and 250 feet away from a residence.

A rough estimate of those potential locations show only two to three areas where a pot shop could be and still meet those parameters. Those spots are on the very edges of town limits.

Erie has banned pot sales since voters legalized sales in the state in 2012. The idea came back up for discussion in 2017, but town leaders upheld their moratorium. A survey in 2021, however, showed 59% of residents approved of overturning the ban; and another survey in 2023 showed that number had grown to 67%.

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