Brighton could be the next town in metro Denver to allow commercial marijuana sales, but the Brighton City Council is still shaping the rules.
Councilmembers approved an ordinance allowing medical and recreational marijuana sales on first reading last October, according to the Brighton Standard Blade, but the second and final reading was shelved until after the November 2023 election so that four new councilmembers could take office. The postponed hearing and vote are now set to occur on Tuesday, February 6, but the ordinance in front of the council will look different from the earlier version.
Like the original measure, the current proposal would allow four dispensaries within Brighton, which has a population of a little over 40,000 people. Two of those dispensary licenses would be reserved for business owners who qualify for a social equity designation; requirements include having grown up or lived in an economically disadvantage area, having a limited income, or having been charged for a marijuana-related crime in the past. Marijuana growing operations, extraction facilities and infused product manufacturers would not be allowed to operate within Brighton.
Unlike the initial draft, however, the measure headed for a vote next week would expand the areas in which marijuana sales could take place, doubling the number of commercial zones available while also qualifying areas zoned for light industrial use.
As it stands, the majority of the areas open for dispensaries would be located on East 152nd Avenue, East 160th Avenue, East Bridge Street and Platte River Boulevard. All other zoning districts in Brighton, including the commercial office, downtown and local retail districts, would be off-limits. The current version also cut back on the initial 1,500-foot buffer zones between dispensaries, but operation hours are still set at 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Councilman Jim Snyder of Brighton’s second ward argued against the 9 p.m. cutoff for dispensary sales during a January 23 study session.
“Liquor stores, they have to close at midnight and they are in kind of a competitive industry,” he said. “It just seems prejudicial to tell one industry it can stay open past 9 p.m. and one you can’t.”
In Denver, Aurora and other metro area communities with marijuana sales, dispensaries were initially limited to similar hours of operation, but the majority of municipalities now allow pot sales until midnight.
Brighton has not yet set a local tax rate for marijuana sales, but some councilmembers are already considering whether to divert some of the city’s potential pot tax revenue to law enforcement. Other members would prefer that the tax revenue go into Brighton’s general fund, which is available for a broader roster of expenses and projects, including law enforcement.
“[Marijuana business owners] also have a concern about tying public safety to marijuana sales because it makes it seem like a sin. The assumption is that this will create public safety issues,” Ward Three Councilman Chris Fielder said during the study session. “This may surprise you, but in my experience, there is no increase in crime where they’ve legalized pot sales because it’s been here all along, legally or illegally, and it always has been.”
City Manager Michael Martinez estimated “somewhere between $200,000 and $500,000” per year from dispensary sales in Brighton.
“This isn’t going to be a significant windfall for the community,” he said. “We really don’t know what it’s going to bring in.”
Some councilmembers expressed a desire for a higher number of stores or tying a dispensary cap to Brighton’s population. Around four stores is “plenty for us to see over the next couple of years” before customers start “recycling” their business, Martinez responded, adding that he doesn’t think Brighton’s tax revenue would increase by allowing more dispensaries to open in town.
Brighton voters rejected a marijuana sales ordinance in 2021. City council began holding public sessions to explore the idea last January, and a sizable faction of the reconstituted council now appears to be on board.
But the ordinance may not meet with unanimous approval. Councilwoman Jan Pawlowsk, who represents the third ward, said she supports medical marijuana, but added that “I just do not believe in the recreational aspect, so I’m still a ‘no’ vote.”
Mayor Greg Mills also told the study session that he opposes commercial marijuana in Brighton.
“I also believe that not every city needs it. You talk to some of the city leaders in Westminster and Arvada, which are much bigger communities, they don’t have it. Same with Centennial, they don’t have it, and they can thrive and grow and prosper. So [I] don’t think we need it,” he said. “But nonetheless, this is a discussion we are talking about as a whole.”
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