Pauls Valley Passes Regulations For Marijuana Businesses Inside City Limits

The Pauls Valley City Council passed an ordinance this week regulating medical marijuana businesses, which include a prohibition of large-scale production facilities. 

“The number one target is commercial grow facilities,” said Assistant City Manager Don Wageman. 

Commercial, wholesale, storage, and processing facilities are no longer allowed within city limits. There is no business that will fall out of compliance because of the new ordinance, Wageman said. 

He said the decision was made to help law enforcement crackdown on illegal operations, and to better manage regulation.

“How could we enforce all the requirements of the state in our community in our means that we have?” 

The ordinance also creates a requirement that marijuana retail establishments be more than 300 ft. away from libraries, museums, public playgrounds and parks, as well as any other marijuana businesses. Stores must be more than 1,000 ft. away from any school. 

Individuals wanting to grow marijuana on their property will need to obtain a city license and pay a fee, and must keep plants inside, according to the ordinance. 

“We don't want offensive odors. We don’t want anything that would entail or drag itself into the nuisance category into the regular ordinances of our city,” Wageman said.

Phoebe Whatley, a manager at Valley Medicinals in Pauls Valley, was critical of the new fee for home grows. 

“It seems a little bit silly, I guess, to have to pay again to have the privilege that you should already have when you get your (medical marijuana) card,” Whatley said. 

The ordinance will be enforced by city employees and the Pauls Valley Fire Department, Wageman said.