[0:02] [music] [0:53] **Madam Chair**: Good evening. [music] I call the November 5th, 2025 Apple Valley Planning Commission meeting to order. The first item of business is the approval of the agenda. Are there any changes from staff? [1:05] **Tim Benetti**: Madam Chair, uh members of the commission, uh good evening. We have no changes for you at this time. [1:11] **Madam Chair**: And from the commissioners, [1:13] **Commissioner Schindler**: move approval. [1:14] **Commissioner Scanlan**: Second. [1:15] **Madam Chair**: Uh moved by Commissioner Schindler and seconded by Commissioner Scanlan. Any discussion? If not, all those in favor say I. [1:24] **Commissioners**: I. [1:25] **Madam Chair**: Oppose. Nay. Motion carries. The next item of business is the approval of the consent agenda. The consent agenda items are considered routine and will be enacted with a single motion without discussion unless a commissioner or a citizen request to have any items separately considered. It will then be moved to the regular agenda for consideration. Can I have a approval? [1:50] **Commissioner Scanlan**: So moved. [1:51] **Commissioner Hass**: Second. [1:52] **Madam Chair**: Made by Commissioner Scanlan and seconded by Commissioner Hass. Any discussion? If not, all those in favor say I. [2:03] **Commissioners**: I. [2:04] **Madam Chair**: Oppose. Nay. Motion carries. That brings us to the public hearing for tonight and that is Carter Hayes will be the planner. We will now open the public hearing for agenda item 4A. The affidavit of publication for the notice of public hearing is available for inspection in the planning department. Everyone wishing to speak at this public hearing should be sure to fill out the attendance roster. Include your name and address so that accurate records can be maintained. We will begin the procedure with a brief presentation by city staff followed by a presentation by the petitioner of the hearing. Upon the conclusion of the presentation, city staff will be asked to comment on the proposal's conformance with pertinent regulations and policies. After that, comments will be taken from the general public. Carter, [2:54] **Carter Hayes**: Good evening everybody. It's been a while. Good to be back. Uh so tonight we have a public hearing on the requested text amendment of PD290-4 uh to exempt cannabis retailers from the prescribed buffers in section 155320. Uh plan commission will open the public hearing, receive comments and close the public hearing. It is a policy not to take action on items the same night. Uh however we have prepared some options for the planning commission to consider that will be at the end of the presentation. [3:21] **Carter Hayes**: Uh so some background on the city cannabis regulations. These were adopted on October 24th, 2024. Um within these [clears throat] regulations, it also designates buffer requirements, uh which is a separation for protected uses. So this is 1,000 ft from schools and existing cannabis businesses, 500 feet from parks, daycares, and residential treatment facilities. Some background on the PD. Uh this district is intended for limited business and community scale retail. Uh the current uses include restaurants, retail shops, and personal services uh such as a hair salon. [4:07] **Carter Hayes**: Uh so the location of the PD uh as you can see um it's generally located on the northeast corner of 150th and Cedar Avenue. The specific zone in question uh is on 147th Street in that cross-hatched area. Uh a red pin also denotes the proposed business location of the cannabis business in connection to the amendment request. So about the request, uh the applicant currently operates a tobacco store in the PD district. Uh this PD district would otherwise allow cannabis retail but is ineligible due to those uh protected use buffers. Uh the applicant is preliminarily [clears throat] approved with the office of cannabis management for a micro business with retail endorsement. Uh and they are asking for an exemption from the buffer requirements within PD290 zone 4. [5:07] **Carter Hayes**: Uh so more on these buffer requirements. Uh as you can see listed on the screen, uh those are the buffers and the distances corresponding with those. Uh you can see the proposed business location pin there. Uh in the cross-hatched area, it does uh fall into the daycare buffer as well as uh school buffer. Uh because it's important to note that these uh buffer distance are measured parcel line to parcel line. So, uh if it is within the parcel, it would be ineligible for um a cannabis business. [5:36] **Carter Hayes**: So, some uh amendment considerations. If approved, the exemption would apply to all properties in zone 4. Uh so, that would be the multi-tenant retail buildings as well as the Applebee's restaurant. Um cannabis retailers would otherwise be able to operate within uh the buffer distances. So once again uh actions requested is open the public hearing receive comments and close the public hearing. Um the options we have prepared if the planning commission finds that sufficient information has been presented at the public hearing and has fulfilled its purpose. Uh the first option we have is amend PD290-4 to exempt cannabis retailers from buffer requirements and the second option is do not amend PD290-4 to exempt cannabis retailers from buffer requirements. [6:28] **Carter Hayes**: We have the corresponding uh recommended motion language underneath those. Um as for staff recommendation, we are recommending denial of the text amendment request as approval would conflict with the purpose of section 155320 uh introduced zoning inconsistencies and compromised protections for nearby protected uses while denial of the request maintains consistency with the adopted regulations. Uh the applicant was not able to make the meeting tonight, but within your packets is the provided uh personal statement that the applicant had written as part of the application. With that, I will turn it over to the planning commission uh to continue the public hearing. [7:05] **Madam Chair**: Thank you, Carter. Anyone wishing to press something? [7:08] **Commissioner Hass**: I did. It didn't light up though. Did our new ones not work? Okay. Item still isn't lit up. There we go. Commissioner Hass still didn't light up. Um, thank you for the presentation. Uh, clarify for me. Uh, right to the north of the proposed site, uh, there is a daycare there. It's pretty pretty close, isn't it? [7:41] **Carter Hayes**: Right. Cedar Avenue, isn't that? Yeah. We don't have... so, yeah, this orange buffer here denotes that 500 foot buffer from the daycare. I don't have the specific parcel line. Yeah. But roughly in the middle somewhere, I believe it might be this parcel here is that daycare in question. [7:50] **Commissioner Hass**: And then off of 147th, uh couple blocks in uh there's a school on the south side of 147th Street. [8:00] **Carter Hayes**: Correct. That this uh yellow buffer here um is the school buffer, which I believe that would be this building here. That is the host uh parcel of the school, right? [8:11] **Commissioner Hass**: Okay. [8:12] **Madam Chair**: Okay. Thank you, Commissioner Schindler. [8:13] **Commissioner Schindler**: Madam Chair, um [clears throat and snorts] Carter, uh is this a location that the applicant—I mean is the applicant, this is the best they could find in Apple Valley to— [8:27] **Carter Hayes**: So this is a location that uh the applicant currently occupies as a tobacco store. Um they have received uh—they are preliminarily approved—which means at this stage they are now looking for a site um that would comply with the zoning requirements of the local municipality. Um and that is the—the generation of this request stems from that. [8:57] **Commissioner Schindler**: Have they looked at other areas in Apple Valley that are located within— [9:05] **Carter Hayes**: I do not believe so. Uh the only inquiry we have had from this uh individual is for this site. [9:11] **Commissioner Schindler**: Thank you. [9:14] **Madam Chair**: Carter, it's under my um impression that he recently just opened up this tobacco store? [9:19] **Carter Hayes**: Yeah. Yep. Yep. Correct. It was within the last handful of years. I don't—do not know a specific year, but it is within the last handful of years. [9:27] **Madam Chair**: And he was under the assumption that he'd be able to sell cannabis also there potentially? [9:32] **Carter Hayes**: Um I do know there's a state—the office of cannabis management does not allow collocation. Um I don't know if that was known by the applicant at the time. Um but it is a requirement of OCM now that you can't have a cannabis business and a tobacco business in the same location. [9:47] **Madam Chair**: Right. Out of curiosity, would the leaser, am I saying that right, wouldn't he be the one to tell him that he wouldn't be able to do both at the time of signing a lease? [10:07] **Carter Hayes**: I don't know if that was—I don't know what their dialogue was at the time of when they signed the lease, per se, but um I imagine those discussions might have occurred. I can't really speak to it. [10:23] **Madam Chair**: Thank you. Anyone else? Guess not. I'll go ahead with the—if there are any audience members who would like to approach uh with questions. Please come to the podium to speak and address all comments and questions to the chair. At this time, there is no one here. So, I will close the public hearing. [10:55] **Madam Chair**: If there are no further comments, I will close this public hearing. It is the policy of the planning commission not to act on an item on the same night as its public hearing. The planning commission will weigh all comments and information received tonight in its deliberations at future meetings. This item will continue to appear on future planning commission agendas until a recommendation on the petition can be forwarded to city council. However, uh I would say that we would probably make a recommendation tonight, meaning that there is no one for the public hearing or the applicant. So, if anybody would like to discuss this prior or make a motion or recommendation, [11:37] **Commissioner Scanlan**: Can I just confirm of the two choices? This um the first one is um to allow the amendment to go forward and make the changes that would allow the uh cannabis in the location as specified. Correct. [11:54] **Carter Hayes**: Yep. So the first option would be to exempt those cannabis retailers from the buffer requirements whereas the second option would be to uh not exempt those or recommend denial. [12:04] **Commissioner Scanlan**: Retain the ordinance as it's current—current regulations. Correct. [12:07] **Carter Hayes**: Correct. [12:08] **Commissioner Scanlan**: Thank you. Madame Chair, I recommend denial of the draft ordinance amending chapter 155, appendix F, adding section A2-5C to exempt cannabis retailers in zone 4 of this planned development from the special use setback buffers in section 155.320. [12:35] **Commissioner Hass**: I would second. [12:36] **Madam Chair**: Okay. The motion was made by Commissioner Scanlan, seconded by Commissioner Hass. Any discussion for anyone? If not, all those in favor say I. [12:51] **Commissioners**: I. [12:52] **Madam Chair**: Oppose. Nay. Motion carries. Thank you. [13:02] **Madam Chair**: That brings us to land use which there are nothing to discuss tonight. So we'll go to other business and that would be Tim Benetti. [13:11] **Tim Benetti**: Thank you Madam Chair. Just a reminder two weeks from now we will have our meeting—regular scheduled meeting for November 19th. We do have an item I believe scheduled for that night as well another public hearing. Uh we hope to have you all here and also followed by the meeting on December 3rd. Our council meetings of November 13th and 25th are shown on your agenda as well. And if you have any questions on uh what—what transpired tonight afterwards, happy to stick around. Uh otherwise uh have a good evening. [13:42] **Madam Chair**: Tim, you too. [13:45] **Commissioner Schindler**: We adjourn. [13:46] **Commissioner Scanlan**: Second. [13:47] **Madam Chair**: Motion to adjourn was made by Commissioner Schindler and seconded by Commissioner Scanlan. All in favor say I. [13:54] **Commissioners**: I. I. [13:55] **Madam Chair**: This meeting is adjourned.