It's three o'clock.

I'm gonna call the infrastructure and growth committee to order.

First on the agenda is the approval of the November 11th meeting minutes.

All right, all in favor.

All right, passes.

And we have two briefings scheduled.

The first one from Trinity Metro is going to be rescheduled to the April City Council work session.

And so next up is Stephanie Scott Sims for the Texas Compassionate Use Program and Zoning Regulations.

Good afternoon.

Stephanie Scott Sims, Assistant Director of Development Services.

Coming before you today to present about the Texas Compassionate Use Program and how we regulate those uses here at the City of Fort Worth.

You may know this as medical marijuana dispensaries.

So just to give you a little bit of background about the state law, the state allows participating physicians to prescribe low dose THC cannabis for qualifying medical conditions.

Those prescriptions are then entered on in an into an online registry, and that prescription is then filled by a DPS licensed dispensing organization.

Now there are currently three licensed dispensing organizations in Texas.

And under the law of HB 46, which was passed in 2025, the state is required to issue 12 more licenses for a total of 15.

Nine of those have been conditionally approved, and under those licenses, licensees may operate actually a variety of related uses, but one of those uses is a satellite location.

And under the state law, the what there is one satellite is allowed per licensee per public health region until that licensee has a satellite in each of the 11 public health regions.

And here's a map showing what those public health regions are and how it is they're divided within the state.

Currently, as I mentioned, there are three licensee or licensed organizations.

They're Fluent, Texas Original, and Good Blend.

Those are the names of the companies.

Two of those currently have pickup locations in Fort Worth.

Now those locations were grandfathered in as satellite locations.

They began their operations before the law was enacted in 2025.

A little bit about licensed dispensing organizations.

So the license allows dispensing, but it also allows the organization to operate other types of related facilities like cultivating, processing, and of course, dispensing.

And those organizations are subject to extensive regulation by the state.

Every time they dispense a prescription, they have to document that in a in a registry.

The satellite locations operate as pickup locations, and they're able to store those prescriptions overnight.

So they're only dispensing prescriptions at these satellite locations.

Under state law, they are these satellite locations may not be located within 1,000 feet of a school or daycare center.

So there's already a somewhat of a distance component requirement under the state law.

Staff presented IR 24-1867.

And staff, you may recall this is the same IR that spoke about proliferating uses, which I was up here a few months ago about.

And so staff stated at that time that these medical marijuana dispensaries would not fall within the definition of a retail smoke shop because they are they are different in the types of things that they sell.

Instead, these dispensaries would be treated more akin to like a pharmacy because there is a prescription requirement.

And that like pharmacies, these uses would be allowed in neighborhood or could be allowed in neighborhood commercial and more commercially intensive districts.

Staff gave council at that time a couple of options as to how you might want to regulate these or think about regulating these.

Again, you can one, you could regulate them akin to a pharmacy, like staff recommended, and what staff has been doing.

Alternative, council could amend the zoning ordinance to define the use or uses and determine what zoning districts that use would be permitted in by right or conditional use permit.

So staff also suggested that the manufacturer of medical marijuana, which is different from dispensary, um, could also be added as its own separate use and then limit it to industrial districts.

Staff did some research about how other cities regulate these uses.

And they do not regulate these as a distinct land use.

There's no distinct regular zoning regulations for these uses.

The only city that we did find that specifically regulated them was Tyler.

And so they actually adopted their ordinance before the satellite locations were allowed, and they treat all of these uses as industrial.

Staff recommends that we regulate satellite locations as a pharmacy.

So continue to regulate them how we've been regulating them.

And I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Councilman Blaylock.

Just a couple of quick questions for clarification.

How many satellite pharmacies may one distributor open in a geographic area?

In total, let me go back.

So right now, under the state law, the one licensee may operate a satellite co satellite location, just one per state health region or public health region.

So and then they can do that until the licensee has a satellite in each of the 11 public health regions.

So I guess it would depend somewhat about how many licensees that we have.

No, and I was gonna add on, and Trey Qualls with their city attorney's office who's done a lot of the research is here as well.

Um I did not mean to cut you off, but I do want to add when I read it, and Trey's gonna confirm this too.

I don't think there's a limit.

Stephanie's exactly right, they cannot establish more than one in a public health region until they have at least one in each region, but then there is no limit in the new updated law.

Um and then also in Trey's coming up too to add on.

So the other thing I would say is as the state approves up to their 15 total, then that's each of those 15 can establish satellite locations in which one.

Stephanie and Trey, while we're talking about this, could you flip back to slide three that has the map that might be helpful?

The only other thing, trade qual's for the city attorney's office.

The only other thing I was gonna add is that um of course this there's a change in law in 2025 that sort of expanded this program.

And so in addition to the one satellite per public health region until uh a licensee has a satellite in each of 11 public health regions.

In addition to that, any pickup locations that previously existed prior to the law change September 1st of last year are grandfathered as satellite locations.

Um so yes, it is one per public health region until you have one in each, but also that does not count any any pickup locations that were previously operating and approved by the Department of Public Safety, those are grandfathered and also can operate as satellite locations.

Council net um hold on.

Go ahead.

I'm sorry.

So uh so what we're saying is once they get into every region, the number of satellites they can have is unlimited.

Is that correct?

I think that's that's a fair statement.

Yeah.

Is there any way for us to put some guidelines around that or some boundaries around that, like we've done with uh certain other types of businesses?

Yeah, the state house.

At the state house.

Councilman, to answer your question, um, I'm not aware of anything that we could do different because this is in the state law, um, but I think it's certainly something we'll we'll talk to the city attorney's office after and just see if we're if we've missed something or haven't thought of it yet.

But I think that's the suggestion here is to find some places, right?

And so you're that's what the staff recommendation is.

Right.

Staff is um so staff is suggesting that we continue to uh regulate these as a pharmacy, which pharmacies are allowed by right in most condition uh most uh commercial districts and foreign based code districts, but then we also establish a second land use that um regulates the manufacturing, the cultivation extraction, and all of those um types of processes um that are related to um medical marijuana and define add that as a use and define and permit those by right in only our industrial districts.

And I think you're suggesting that because right now, as it stands, those are two muddy, they're muddy together, right?

That's correct.

So we're gonna define that it's a pharmacy, but then also that these other activities happen only in these kind of districts.

That is correct.

Councilman Peoples, do you have a question?

No, that was uh Alan um asked my question.

Sorry.

I have a question, Lisa.

Councilman Edels.

Okay.

So we had this discussion, I guess you said a few months back.

We had this, we have we had this discussion about medical marijuana that was what was that a couple years ago, specifically about it was about medical marijuana, but it was also about the proliferating uses.

So uh the recommendation from staff have there been issues with um this I guess the second part that you're recommending is why we're bringing this back to the the council.

We're actually bringing this back.

We haven't had any issues.

Um we do have one application that is in um that's under consideration right now, a building permit application for a dispensary type use.

Um, and we are treating it as a pharmacy like we have um dictated um through the the IR.

But we thought, you know, if there's this one, then there could be more coming.

And so we want to make sure that we are operating um the way the council wants to see this the these uses regulated.

Where where is it?

Um what district is it in?

Um it's actually on along Camp Bowie, and it's three.

Yeah.

And the second part, one last question.

The second part that you're recommending, is this what you have up here?

This is the part that you recommended.

We're recommending this is our recommendation.

So the second part establishing uh the use um in JK industrial has any other cities, is this where any other cities have not done is in major cities?

Yeah, the other cities don't have any regulations.

Um again, would the only city that we found to have a regulation was Tyler, and they regulate everything as just an industrial use.

Okay.

Councilman Blaylock.

So I I just look at look at this, and you know, in any neighborhood commercial kind of gives me pause, we could have you know hundreds and thousands of these across the city at some point.

I know that's not uh likely, but that's the that's the potential in the future, and I just wonder if we need to be a little bit more restrictive as you know, for future councils.

Stephanie have a question on the satellite locations.

They're allowed to store it, but the difference with the the having its own zoning.

I'm sorry, you go back.

No, no, no.

Yes.

Yes.

So the satellites can actually store it on site.

The others cannot, or they can as well.

So the satellite locations, they they store them overnight and then they um dispense to the um, I guess the customers.

They dispense to the customers, the prescription holders.

Um, and so the other uses they operate, I believe they're more of the back of the house, if you will.

So actually the growing of the medical marijuana, the cultivating, they operate more of like a green, like a greenhouse, if you will, um, packaging it, processing it.

So they're doing a lot of the um the the sh and then they ship it out to these dispensary sites, the satellite locations.

That to me makes sense, like having its own land use if you're actually gonna grow it and produce it.

And I mean, to me that that seems logical.

How does okay?

So talk about Tyler a little bit more.

How do they regulate it?

They only regulate them.

Um they regulate all cultivation, production, and distribution is industrial.

And I don't, I'm not really quite sure if they have any satellite locations there yet.

Um that I'm not sure.

And the other cities, and we I know you probably wonder why is bash drop on there.

Well, Bass Shop actually has one of the largest of um these cultivation facilities.

They have it's kind of I think it's like a 75,000 square foot facility that actually houses I think it's Texas Original, that's where they're headquartered at.

It's their headquarters.

It's it serves as a dispensary, but also as all of these other things too that they do there.

The the cultivation, the processing, and all of those things.

So that's why we have bash rub on there as well.

I just I'm gonna have one small thing.

Um the the reason you don't have a lot of land use probably regulations about these yet is until last September there were only three of these operating, and they were all down in I think public health region seven, uh which is Bassdrop Austin, that area.

And so uh you so and I will one other thing, those primary locations they can actually dispense at the at those locations as well.

But um, but like Stephanie said, those are mainly their production and cultivation packaging, and then they ship them out to satellite locations, which are a relatively new invention of the statute.

So when you're talking about regulate, is that the city of Fort Warrent or DPS?

DPS regulates um the primary locations and the satellite locations.

Okay.

Councilman Crane.

Yeah, thank you.

Um, just putting this all together.

Um state has passed a rule that basically allows pharmacies to exist that just dispense marijuana, right?

Correct.

Okay, I'm just putting this all for folks.

Um we have no oversight of that.

State allows it to happen.

And once there's an established pharmacy in every single region, they can open other satellite pharmacies within the region.

That is correct.

Got it.

Um, this is obviously an issue because I think it's on Holleran or Horn, I forget which street.

Yes, um, which sits at three, it's on the Cusp of seven, um, and it's cause a camp buoy district that's there, cause a little angst among neighbors, et cetera, because of not necessarily what is there but what might come, right?

Um and and be there.

I I think it's interesting what the state has done since we have pharmacies that exist already, and they're setting up other pharmacies when it could, if it could just be prescribed through a CVS or a walgreens, et cetera.

But the state's done what it's done.

I see that.

Um a couple of questions for you though.

Um it says a thousand feet within a school or a daycare.

What happens if a school or daycare opens next to one of these facilities?

Is it grandfathered in?

That's a good question.

I believe so, but I will defer to for the record.

Yeah, I believe in the Texas administrative code um where they have the provisions that regulate the satellite locations.

It says that if the school comes after the uh satellite is opened that the satellite doesn't have to move or close.

Okay.

I just that's gonna come up as these proliferate.

Can we do anything about it?

There's a school next to it.

I'm sure we'll our offices will get calls about that.

Um other cities looking into regulating at this point.

I see that there's not anybody doing it, but when y'all made your calls.

I am not aware of any.

I I'm not sure.

Okay.

It's just interesting to know when we keep abreast of what everybody's doing.

I'll say this.

I like the plan at least.

It seems our hands are tied uh for part of this.

Um, but I like the plan overall of separating those two.

And I would kind of liken this to TAVC rules in that you where alcohol is manufactured, you can't necessarily consume it or pick it up.

You can pick it up there, but it has to leave.

So you can't cultivate it and basically consume it in the same place, right?

Right.

Not that you can consume here.

It's kind of a but I I would say separating that and saying where you cultivate growth et cetera.

I mean, I think it's clear what this is for.

Eventually they're they want to it once it if it's legalized, you can do all these activities within a within a store, but I think still growing it versus can being able to pick it up as a consumer, maybe should be two different things, and I think that's at least the what we've you've set up there, right?

Yes, that's correct.

That's all I have.

Councilman Nettles.

And I just want to make sure I understand we're talking about medical legal marijuana that you only can buy through a prescription.

That is correct.

Okay.

Yes, sir.

Any other questions?

So I guess I just wanted clarification because councilman Blaylock mentioned putting in restrictions.

So are you asking for distance requirements?

My question is, is there anything we can do?

I'm not specifying anything.

I just want to know what options are available, if any at all.

And I think staff has some time to think about that.

Tyler, can we put that on you?

Thank you.

Sorry, Trey.

Councilman Nettles.

No, I was saying they don't they don't bring this back to full council.

Is that correct?

I'm asking staff.

Yes, it will come back before council, at least for sure, to adopt the second use um in in terms of putting that in the industrial the recommendation that you saw up there.

And I think to Councilman Blaylot's question, if this body wants us to look at um additional regulations again, I don't know what we can or cannot do.

Um, but we still have zoning authority, and so we can take a look at that if y'all if y'all want us to go further than what staff recommended right now.

Well, I guess my question is why staff recommend I don't want to get in the weeds of it, but I'm trying to figure out why staff is recommending the uh second piece.

I get the stigma of you don't want to have manufacturer marijuana uh stores are able to sell within neighborhoods.

But if we're talking about legal medical marijuana that you have to have a prescription that because they do it in Oklahoma, I mean I don't care how you want to go in and try to buy it.

If you don't have prescription, you cannot get it.

So I'm just trying to figure out why staff is pushing this uh difference in this ordinance because I think we're probably at least six to eight sessions away uh from it being legal uh Texas wide.

Um Alan's going down that's all he might stop it.

Councilmember Nettles, we're so we're we're um recommending this to the second kind of piece of this because these are more intense uses, right?

And so they're more akin to an industrial um probably more appropriate in an industrial area as opposed to in your neighborhood commercial area.

Like as you as you saw here, this picture uh of this good blend pharmacy, this is what these pickup sites look like.

Okay, and so it's just like a little storefront area, it's it's nothing big.

Um, however, when you get into the cultivation and the packaging and the processing, now you're talking about way more intensity.

Um you have trucks going in and out and things like that.

And so we felt like that was more appropriate in an industrial area as opposed to being allowed to do that in a small neighborhood commercial area.

So with regard sorry, but with regard to the cultivation processing and everything else, um are there requirements or licenses around that TCEQ or anything else?

Okay, let me follow up on the last question and then I'll come back to that one if I can.

I was in response to the question while we're doing something about these now.

I was just gonna add to what Stephanie was saying.

Uh like she said earlier, there's been three licensed uh dispensing organizations in the state for about a decade.

And after a year of study in 2024, the legislature came back and said in 2025 they changed the law with HB 46 and said that the state has to issue 12 more dispensing organization licenses for a total of 15.

And so those will be the first new cultivators and production facilities in the state since those original three.

So that's probably uh I mean that's another reason why it's just now coming up to add that type of use.

And then the second question was uh the regulations they're in uh the the DPS does the licensing.

Um there are also regulations in the Health and Safety Code and the Texas Admin Code, and yes, they have to meet all sorts of security, um ventilation for the production, fire safety, all those.

Councilwoman Peoples.

Okay, so I don't want to scream and fire unnecessarily.

Have you?

I'm going back to Councilman Crane.

Have you talked to these other cities?

Go back to your Dallas and all the other areas about why they choose not to regulate it.

I mean, I want to make sure we're we're not just deciding because it's medical marijuana and marijuana is like this drug that we're not screaming fire in a crowded theater.

And so are we talking to these other cities about why they chose or choosing not to regulate.

Councilmember Peoples, we have not done that work.

We can definitely do that work before and have that um for when we come back.

Okay.

Yes, ma'am.

I would like for us to do that and see why, you know, what their thought process was.

Councilman Crane.

I was just gonna say, isn't it?

I think that this camp buoy has caused the problem, and staff wanted clarity a little bit too.

What's a pharmacy versus uh the other pieces and parts?

Is that fair enough to say is that's why this is in front of us at this point?

That is fair.

So permitting they knew what how what CO to issue, et cetera.

That is correct.

Right, okay.

Put them all over here.

Okay.

I I think you've hit the nail exactly on the head.

And I'll just point out again that IR went to council in 24.

There really was no discussion from the council at the time.

There were no questions on that specific use, and so we made no changes because council did not ask for anything.

Fast forward now in 2025, the law was updated.

There's additional things that you're absolutely right.

The new application, it just caused us to take another look and really want to know that council, you still stand where where we previously said, and then based on our own analysis, we do have a recommended update for you as well.

Okay, and so to answer your question, Councilmember Blailock, uh Trey, can we get that to at least some options to look at if we want to make it more restrictive so we can have the entire picture?

Yeah, certainly we'll certainly look at that.

Um, the law does state that we can't prohibit these, obviously, but it does they're still subject to our our local regulations.

Thank you.

Additional questions.

Thank you, Stephanie.

Thank you.

Okay, that is our last action item.

Meeting is adjourned.