Hastings City Council to vote on increasing its cannabis business cap

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The City of Hastings, Minnesota, will vote Monday to raise its cap on cannabis businesses after getting new guidance from the state.

Cannabis cap

What we know:

The Hastings City Council voted last December to impose a cap on retail cannabis businesses to only allow for one in the city.

Monday, the council will vote to change that ordinance and raise the cap to two.

Why the change?:

The Minnesota cannabis law requires cities to have one retail cannabis business per 12,500 residents. Officials say Hastings has a population of around 23,000, which the city thought meant they were only required to have one cannabis business.

However, in a memo included in council documents, city officials say the Office of Cannabis Management released new guidance that cities of Hastings size should have at least two retail businesses.

What else?:

The city will also change the ordinance to allow registration for cannabis businesses with preliminary approval for a license from the state.