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Mancos weighs 2nd pot retailer

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Tuesday, March 10, 2015 8:21 PM
Lea Cody, Kathy Smith, Mattie Sim, and Jim Cody of medical marijuana shop Bud Farm in Mancos.

The Mancos Town Board will hold a public hearing Wednesday to consider allowing second retail marijuana store in Mancos.

The first store, The Shop, opened Dec. 22.

The Bud Farm, 385 N. Willow, is asking the town to approve its retail marijuana application, which will coincide with its medical marijuana business.

The board recently voted on an emergency ordinance banning new marijuana business in town to align town policies with state law.

The Bud Farm had submitted its application for a retail marijuana license before the ban was enacted, so the emergency ban does not apply, said Town Administrator Andrea Phillips.

"They put in their application before we had the moratorium in affect," she said.

Phillips said The Bud Farm would retain the medical portion of the business and have a separate retail portion.

Also at 7 p.m. Wednesday, board members will hold a public hearing on Ordinance 695, which would remove the criminal penalty of land-use code violations.

For example, tall weeds can be treated as a criminal violation, with a fine of about $1,000.

"We still want people to comply, but we are not looking at jail time for violations," Phillips said.

Because of possible jail time, violators could ask for a jury trial, a party could request a jury trial after being cited with pollution or other land-use violations.

"We wanted to decriminalize those violations and make the process more simple," Phillips said.

If approved, town administrators would become code enforcement officers.

In addition, the town board plans to consider lowering fines to a maximum of $499 for violations.

"We don't want to make it a criminal matter, that takes it to a legal level that probably isn't necessary," Phillips said.

The board also will consider quotes from companies to find leaks in the treated-water supply system.

"We think we are loosing over 30 percent of our treated water," Phillips said. "And that can get expensive."

Companies use sound and vibration equipment to go through the system and determine locations of leaks.

"I think that will tell us a lot," Phillips said. "It will help us prioritize replacement of water lines."

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