Kirkwood — Kirkwood City Council is considering a permit to operate a marijuana store on Manchester Road, which, if approved, would be the city’s first marijuana business.
New Growth Horizon is opening a full-service clinic on the site of a former tire and car factory at 10855 Manchester Road. The clinic serves both recreational and medical marijuana users and has a dedicated drive-thru lane for pickup orders.
The Kirkwood Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously last month to recommend the City Council approve the project. The council said as early as he could cast a permit vote on May 18, first at a regularly scheduled meeting at Kirkwood City Hall (139 South Kirkwood Road) on Thursday at 7 p.m. public hearings can be held.
New Growth’s planned renovation of the property will transform the service bay into a drive-thru service lane, according to planning documents. Bay overhead doors should be closed during each customer transaction and opened only to allow customer entry or exit. The clinic, which is open daily from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm, has armed guards on site and uses 24-hour video surveillance.
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After voters approved the tax earlier this month, sales of recreational pots from dispensaries will be taxed at 3 cents on the dollar. Kirkwood was one of dozens of municipalities across the state to approve new taxes in April, while De Perez and Maryland Heights also approved new marijuana facilities in recent months.
New Growth also retails pots branded as Proper Cannabis in the Crestwood and Mehlville areas and sells marijuana growing and processing plants in Rock Hill.
In total, there are 65 marijuana stores operating in the greater St. Louis metropolitan area, according to the latest data from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. All but four pharmacies sell to recreational users in addition to medical users.
Some pot establishments face backlash. In Olivet, Proper withdrew his pot farm application from the warehouse in May after strong opposition from residents who expressed concerns about odors.
Last fall, Olivet enacted restrictions on facilities growing or processing marijuana, including a 750-foot buffer between facilities and homes and strict odor mitigation rules. April voters also approved a 3-cent sales tax on future recreational pot sales.
State law prohibits cities from banning medical marijuana businesses, but it does allow restrictions on location and hours of operation, including a buffer of up to 1,000 feet between medical cannabis businesses and schools, nursery schools and places of worship. Allowing you to set regulations. Kirkwood, which was the first to adopt a zoning ordinance allowing medical marijuana businesses in 2018, needs the biggest buffer.
However, cities can hold a public vote on whether to ban marijuana businesses from serving recreational users.
Customers react to the first day of legal marijuana sales in Missouri on Friday, February 3, 2023 at Good Day Farm in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis.
