Waterford ― The town’s Planning and Zoning Commission’s stance on the production and retail sales of cannabis has not changed.

After the commission reviewed a proposed draft of the regulations at a special meeting via Zoom Tuesday night, it is moving forward with a ban.

If the town’s 12-month moratorium on cannabis sales expires before the commission takes any action, cannabis dispensaries and retailers would be allowed in town as any other retail store would be.

The moratorium is set to expire on Dec. 17 of this year.

Previously, at the commission’s regular meeting on Sept. 6, commissioners reviewed a draft of regulations to potentially allow cannabis establishments in Waterford. Commissioners discussed possibly allowing just the production of the substance and not the retail sale. Some commissioners were opposed to allowing it all.

In the end, commissioners requested that the planning department staff prepare new a draft to ban all cannabis establishments in town, with the exception of medical marijuana dispensaries that are currently allowed.

Currently, medical marijuana dispensary facilities are allowed in the Medical Campus Overlay District (MCOD) on Parkway South, where Smillow Cancer Hospital is located, and would remain so under a ban.

Under a state law that legalized the recreational use of marijuana and took effect last year, municipalities have the discretion to allow or prohibit cannabis businesses within their borders, regulate signs and operating hours, and develop specific regulations for such businesses. The law allows one retailer and one retail grower for every 25,000 residents, which means the town can have one grower and one retailer.

Director of Planning and Zoning Abby Piersall outlined a general timeline for enacting the ban in a memorandum to the commission. After the commission reviewed the proposed draft of the ban, the planning department will finalize the paperwork prior to the commission’s next meeting on Oct. 25. As long as the commission approves the final wording of the ban, the town will advertise for a public hearing, which is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 15.

Piersall explained in the memo that this schedule gives the commission time to reflect on any public comment and allows time to set the date when the regulations take effect before the moratorium expires.

Once the ban is in place, the commission could later revisit and alter it.

k.arnold@theday.com