Marijuana petition hits Estes Park

By Claire Woodcock

Workers trim marijuana buds at Kind Enterprises in Boulder County. A petition is attempting to collect enough signatures to ultimately bring a recreational and medicinal marijuana dispensary to Estes Park. (Jeremy Papasso / Daily Camera)

 

A local family looking to bring their medical and recreational marijuana business from Denver to Estes Park has been formally approved by the Office of the Town Clerk to collect signatures to permit the operation of marijuana facilities in town.

The Initiated Ordinance would permit the operation of a limited number of marijuana facilities, including retail cultivation and stores, medical operation premises and medical marijuana premises within town limits in commercial heavy zoning districts and with a 1,000-foot setback from schools.

The petitioners are Carolyn Newberry and Cam Bogener, a mother-son duo looking to relocate their business Pando Dispensary out of Denver and into Estes Park. They have 180 days to obtain five percent of signatures from currently registered voters within town limits. That's 236 signatures.

Bogener believes he can reach that target in less than six months.

"I'm just going around, I have various contacts within the community and businesses in Estes Park and they're kind enough to sign my petition," Bogener said.

Lumpy Ridge Brewing Company is one of them. Owner Nick Smith said Estes Park needs to support the initiative in order to maintain a competitive edge with other Colorado mountain towns.

"It's not that I'm a huge weed smoker myself, I just think there are a lot of benefits that we're missing out on in all facets of the travel and tourism industry," Smith said.

The brewery is hosting a petition signing event Friday evening for the Initiated Ordinance Petition.

Bogener is optimistic that more events will take place, as these are also ripe opportunities to answer citizen question and concerns on the nature of how marijuana businesses operate. Bogener said he has been engaged in dialogue around the issue on social media as well.

"With any controversial issue like this, it's really important to not let your emotions or anyone else's emotions affect you and just only present facts rather than opinions," he said. "Using state-funded studies is another strategy that we're going to be using. We're also planning on launching a website full of helpful tips, give facts about marijuana and how it's helped other state-funded communities like ours in Colorado."

Jodi Roman is a physical therapist in town. She said the research to support the medical benefits of marijuana for chronic pain or cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy is undeniable when used responsibly. That paired with the potential tax incentives, Roman sees the petition is a step in the right direction for Estes Park.

"It's good to let town residents have a say and allow them time to educate themselves and see that marijuana is not this terrible thing and we can benefit from the revenue like other towns have," Roman said. "The Town Board just needs to make sure if it is legalized that they allow for the most beneficial dissemination of the funds that we get from marijuana sales."

Estes Park Police Department's Chief of Police Wes Kufeld said in a recent interview that if the people of Estes Park decide they want to see marijuana in Town limits, the department will take the measures necessary to manage the legality of it.

"I'm talking for the police department when I say we don't want to see marijuana facilities in Estes Park," Kufeld said. "I'm talking both personally and professionally. That's how I feel."

After the signatures are submitted, the Office of the Town Clerk has 30 days to review and determine if the petitions have the number of signatures needed. If signatures are found valid, the Clerk will issue a statement of sufficiency.

Within 20 days of that issuance, the Town Board can choose to adopt the proposed ordinance without altercation or order the ordinance published and refer it to the voters at a regular or special election 60 to 150 days after the final determination of the petition's sufficiency.

If the Initiated Ordinance is approved by voters, there would be a separate election held to impose and excise taxes on revenues from marijuana facilities.

Bogener said that administration within the Town of Estes Park has been helpful in helping him understand how local democracy can work for the people.

"They haven't come out in support of my issue but they have come out in support of me wanting to affect change in my community and I think that's really important," he said.