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Netherlands Holland: Amsterdam adopts updated cannabis, smoke shop regulations Ashley Onyon The Recorder Saturday 08 Feb 2025 An ordinance modifying city code was adopted by the Common Council on Tuesday following a scheduled public hearing. No one spoke during the session livestreamed online. The update has codified in Amsterdam existing state restrictions prohibiting cannabis businesses from being located within 2,000 feet of other businesses of the same type, within a 200-foot radius of houses of worship and within a 500-foot radius of schools or youth centers. Under the ordinance, those same restrictions have been extended to tobacco, vape and smoke shops or consumption businesses in Amsterdam. City officials have said there were previously no regulations over such businesses, which zoning rules treated like other commercial uses. The ordinance seeks to enhance enforcement by increasing penalties for violating city code regulations, making violations punishable by a fine of at least $100 and up to $1,000 and/or incarceration for a maximum of 15 days for each offense. Violations were previously punishable by a fine of up to $350 and/or imprisonment for up to six months for each offense. A definition has also been added to city code for licensed adult-use cannabis microbusinesses engaged in cannabis cultivation and at least one additional activity involving products grown by the business, including processing, distribution or retail sales. Microbusinesses are allowed in the downtown core, employment, commercial corridor and light industrial zoning districts where other cannabis uses are allowed. No cannabis uses are permitted in expressly residential zoning districts. The updates were recommended by officials and volunteers on the committee formed by the city last fall to review regulations for cannabis businesses and smoke shops amidst concerns about the potential for oversaturation and related adverse impacts to the community. A moratorium was adopted and later extended to pause new applications until the process was complete. The committee largely determined the city’s existing zoning rules for cannabis businesses and regulations through the state Office of Cannabis Management provide sufficient safeguards while providing opportunities for prospective business owners. It was concluded exceeding those standards would likely create barriers to new businesses opening in zoning districts where cannabis operations are allowed in the city spanning roughly 5.87 square miles. Still, the committee found the city lacked adequate regulations governing tobacco, vape and smoke businesses. There has been a rapid influx of such retailers in the city in recent years. City officials have described the updates as a balanced approach to regulating cannabis businesses and smoke shops that takes into account the concerns of both supporters and opponents of the industries. Another ordinance was adopted this week modifying city code requirements for prior written notices to the city of defective, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed conditions involving streets, highways, bridges, culverts, sidewalks or crosswalks. No one spoke during the public hearing also held on Tuesday. The ordinance stipulates that notices must be delivered to the City Clerk’s Office in hard copy. Delivery of notices in physical form and failure of the city to remedy issues within a “reasonable time” are required for civil actions to be filed for related damages or injuries. City officials have said the update follows a recommendation from the New York State Conference of Mayors that municipalities adopt laws codifying prior written notice of defect procedures due to the state Court of Appeals ruling in Calabrese v. City of Albany. In that case, a motorcyclist sued Albany after being injured when his bike went over a depression on Lark Street. The man claimed the city was notified of the issue through SeeClickFix, an online reporting tool. City officials countered issues reported through the app did not constitute prior written notice. The court rejected Albany's argument and request to dismiss the lawsuit. The suggested updates to prior written notice procedures are intended to limit the exposure of communities from reports submitted electronically, including via email, municipal websites, reporting apps and social media comments. https://www.dailygazette.com/the_recorder/news/amsterdam-cannabis-regulations/article_56cf76c4-e4d7-11ef-a57e-ef71368603b6.html
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