The Whitefish Planning Board last week voted unanimously to recommend zoning amendments that affect marijuana facilities within city limits.

On Feb. 21, the Whitefish City Council adopted an interim zoning ordinance that put a six-month-long pause on new marijuana facilities while the council decided what to do with regard to buffering.

Although the city’s distancing requirements were taken directly from the Montana Department of Revenue, some in the community voiced concerns to the council about dispensaries being potentially located too close to schools and churches.

The original buffer requirements included exemptions for marijuana businesses addressed on different streets or having front doors on different streets from schools and churches.

The proposed amended requirement is a flat 500-foot distance from schools, churches and other dispensaries, no matter the address or front door location. This could resolve loopholes that have allowed dispensaries to be located too close to other marijuana facilities and schools/churches.

Distancing requirements also varied between zones, with WB-3 differing from WB-1 and WB-2.

“To make it consistent, the direction we got would be just to have a 500 foot buffer in all zones from front door to front door so it’d be a circular distancing requirement or setback,” Whitefish Planning Director David Taylor said as he directed the board to maps in the staff report that illustrate the new distancing requirements. “It basically eliminates most of the downtown from any additional new dispensaries.”

Existing permitted dispensaries that do not meet these new requirements would be

grandfathered in and can remain.

The sheer number of facilities was also a concern to some. The amended code not only addresses the proximity of new facilities to other buildings but it serves to limit the number of facilities that can operate in the city.

The board learned that there are no pending applications for facilities that would be affected by the amendment and proceeded to vote 6-0 in favor of recommending the changes.

A public hearing on the matter is scheduled before the Whitefish City Council on July 17.