FERGUS FALLS, Minn. — Two downtown cannabis businesses hoping to sell recreational marijuana have found themselves at the center of a zoning debate, as Fergus Falls city leaders raise concerns over their proximity to local parks.
At a Fergus Falls City Council meeting earlier this month, council member Mike Mortenson questioned whether the dispensaries Elevate and Sugar High were located too close to what city ordinance defines as an “attraction” within a park used by minors. City code prohibits cannabis retailers from operating within 250 feet of such attractions.
Mortenson argued the ordinance’s language remains vague.
“No one within the Office of Cannabis Management or, you know, locally, can have a true definition of what an attraction is,” Mortenson said.
Elevate, a downtown hemp store opened in 2022, sits approximately 230 feet from the parking lot of Spies Park. But co-owner Kris Stach disputes the idea that the area is a children’s attraction.
“Just last Saturday was their first farmers market opening, which I love — it brings a ton of people down to us,” Stach said. “They were actually selling beer there at the actual kids’ attraction. So if we’re going to call it a kids’ attraction, should we really be selling beer there?”
Stach said his plan from the beginning was to sell recreational cannabis and that he’s complied with all local and state regulations. But under the current interpretation of the rules, he may need to relocate.
“If we’re gonna call something that’s generally not a kid’s attraction a kid’s attraction, that really puts me in a hard place to go find a place to actually rent and do business in Fergus Falls,” Stach said.
Mortenson said his goal is not to punish businesses, but to protect children.
Emily McCune, co-owner of Sugar High, was also denied an interim use permit. She said her store is 216 feet from what the city defined as a park — a grassy patch near City Hall.
“I didn’t know that was technically a park. Nobody assembles there. There’s no attraction,” McCune said.
She believes the city is pushing her out of downtown.
“They’re trying to push us out of downtown into a commercial zone where there’s nowhere to open,” McCune said. “We don’t have the budget to just build a building from the ground up.”
McCune said her business had a good relationship with city officials, including the mayor, until new council members were elected last November.
“Everyone’s up in arms in our community about this. It seems as though our City Council doesn’t care what its constituents think,” she said. “At this point, I’m fighting this fight on principle because it doesn’t make any sense.”