Pueblo Planning Commission decides on home marijuana grows

No marijuana can be grown outdoors, according to a recommendation made by the Pueblo Planning and Zoning Commission.

The commission unanimously approved a recommendation that sets specific guidelines on where marijuana can be grown on a property. Permitted areas include inside a detached one-family residence or a detached structure. The number of plants grown in a single-family home cannot exceed 100 square feet or be taller than 10 feet.

“If my neighbor wants to grow a plant out in his backyard, how is that a big concern to me?,” Robert Davis asked the planning commissioners. Three of the seven members weren’t present during Wednesday’s hearing.

“Here, we’re talking about marijuana like it’s guns and bullets, or bombs, or poison or rattlesnakes, or something, because it’s new,” said local marijuana activist David Lemon.

The planning commission’s recommendation gets forwarded to city council and then council members will have the final say on whether to approve the ordinance.

Marijuana enthusiasts in the crowd said forcing people to grow marijuana indoors, instead of outdoors, will increase their costs significantly.

“It’s about 10 times as expensive as growing outdoors,” said Travis Nelson. “The state has already come out with definitions of a greenhouse as clearly meeting a locked and closed structure.”

The planning commission’s decision on Wednesday came a month after it met with supporters and opponents of the proposed ordinance. It was sent back to city staff for revisions last month.

“There’s a lot of marijuana growers that are doing it legally, they’re doing it the right way, but we’re getting a lot of complaints from neighbors next to grows that there’s no recourse,” said Pueblo planning commissioner David Webb. “Primarily, what we’ve heard on the planning and zoning commission are excessive smells, objectionable smells from grows.”

The recommended ordinance prohibits home cultivation in multi-family homes and single-family attached dwellings. Renters are required to obtain written permission from their property owner if they wish to grow pot.

Pueblo City Council is expected to vote on the ordinance next month.