Heidi Bunch
A joint meeting between The Mineral County Board of County Commissioners and the Regional Planning Commission was held last Wednesday to discuss allowing marijuana businesses to operate in Mineral County.

The Mineral County Board of County Commissioners and the Mineral County Regional Planning Commission held a joint meeting last Wednesday to discuss marijuana.

The meeting was to discuss establishing an ordinance amending the code of Mineral County to allow marijuana establishments.

Mineral County District Attorney Sean Rowe went over the wording of the proposed ordinance after the passage of the 2016 initiative petition “entitled Ballot Question No. 2, the Nevada Revised Statutes (“NRS”) were amended adding Chapter 453D providing for the regulation and taxation of marijuana within the State of Nevada.”

Rowe explained that Chapter 453D of the revised statutes provides the working for recreational marijuana establishments that can grow, produce, distribute and offer marijuana and marijuana products, including the sale and consumption of marijuana for people over the age of 21 years old.

The joint meeting set the wording for marijuana establishment business licenses. It was determined that it will be unlawful for any person(s) to operate a marijuana establishment without first obtaining a business license from Mineral County. Any business applying for a license to operate such a business in Mineral County, they must first have an established license through the Nevada Department of Taxation, be in good and current standing with other state licenses and permits as well as county licenses and permits needed.

To apply for the license, the application will need to include, besides the above: any fees; description of property; type of establishment; name of on-site managers; a security plan (which will be held confidential) and registration cards.

Rowe explained that the zoning for marijuana establishments will add a new chapter to “chapter 17” of the Mineral County code.

“Marijuana establishments are permitted uses within first agricultural districts (A-1) and open use districts (M-3) of unincorporated Mineral County,” Rowe explained.

Each applicant will need to file for a special use permit through the planning and zoning board. Rowe explained that these types of establishments are not allowed on anything smaller than a one acre piece of ground with an average width of no less than one hundred and fifty feet.

“This is just a proposal and a draft,” Rowe explained.

Planning and zoning chairman Mark Nixon stated that he noticed that no commercial properties were included in the proposed ordinance. Rowe explained that if the board’s wished to change the zoning of where permitted, he could make those changes.

“This [the proposed ordinance] looks simple,” Nixon stated.

“Mineral County does not have the manpower…to regulate this business. If the state is going do it, then we let the state do it,” Commissioner Jerrie Tipton told Nixon.

Nixon would like to see reclamation of property clause put into the ordinance to save Mineral County from having to do all the clean-up if someone defaults.

The boards discussed the state statute and the allowance of a dispensary in Mineral County.

Both boards will fine tune the document and will present it at a future commissioner’s meeting.