Berthoud Board of Trustees had a full agenda for the June 15 meeting. Medical marijuana was eleventh on the agenda, but two business asked to speak during the Citizen Participation. Both wanted to be exempted from the moratorium and be allowed to open for business before July 1. Both had obtained a town sales tax license before the moratorium went into effect.
The first to speak had obtained a sales license and opened its doors briefly before closing. The second had obtained a license and then operated outside the town limits at the Highway 287 intersection. Neither business had made any sales tax payments to the town.
The couple from the Highway 287 location were also represented by an attorney who told the board that, based on opinion by town staff that they would be allowed to open, had leased the property at 520 Mountain Avenue, previously the Roadhouse Bicycle Shop. He said that if the board did not approve his clients that it would bring up the issue of promissory esstopple [1] [2] and portend possible litigation.
Also speaking to the board was Charles Viehler, 980 Mountain Avenue. Construction crews working on the Mountain Avenue Project had done a great deal of grading in front of his house and across the south end of Waggener Farm Park that day and Viehler had just learned that a sidewalk would extend to County Road 17. Viehler expressed his concerns about that construction. (see Berthoud Town Forum [3] for more)
The board approved revisions to the Development Code Subdivision Regulations with out comment.
The proposal to adopt the 2006 International Building code, 2006 Residential Code and the 2008 National Electrical code engendered discussion and comment. The board had asked for a change to reduce the requirement for R-19 insulation in exterior walls. That requirement would have mandated 6-inch walls. Local contractor John Ezzo spoke to ask the board to upgrade the standards for roofing shingles. The mayor thanked Mr. Ezzo for his input, but said that it was to late in the process to make those changes but that the board would take his recommendations under advisement for future revisions. The board the approved the resolution.
The board also approved a code waiver to allow Larry Bebo to forgo preliminary plat development for a 20-acre parcel abutting O’Mally Glen subdivision. The property, know as Golden Acres, would be rolled into the planning for O’Mally Glen.
The board then went into executive session to discuss potential litigation. Upon return, Mayor Patterson said than no decisions were made in the session.
The final business before the board was the extension of the Medical Marijuana moratorium.
The board had initially adopted the issuance of a town sales tax license as the standard for determining eligibility for opening a medical marijuana dispensary. That was revised in the next revision to require that the business had actually remitted sales tax. Five sales tax licenses had been issued before the moratorium went into effect. Only two of those business have remitted tax.
Attorney Fickel advised that those entities, which have licenses, can open up a business, but they cannot dispense medical marijuana. He also gave the opinion that the issue of promissory estopple would not apply. The board voted to extend the moratorium to December so that the town could act after the state department of health had drafted its regulations.
In other business, Lori Taylor was appointed to the Planning and Zoning Commission.