Jordan Person (responsibleusedenver@gmail.com), the executive director of the Denver chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, explained a ballot proposal (Responsible Use Denver) for which signatures are currently being gathered for the November 8, 2016 Denver election ballot. The supporters have until August 15 to gather more than 4700 signatures from registered voters. She explained that the group believes that the biggest problem is that, even though use of medical and recreational marijuana is now legal in Colorado and there are now about 200 sales and grow locations in Denver, there is “nowhere public to go” for the legal use of such products.

Committee Chair Margie Valdez called the meeting to order and introduced a discussion of marijuana and its effects on neighborhoods and young people. City Councilwoman-at-Large Robin Kniech described Council Bill 16-0291, a very complicated and much-negotiated ordinance to regulate and limit any new marijuana retail licenses and cultivation licenses, which is scheduled for final reading on April 25 and, if passed, will be effective on May 1, 2016. There will be a possibility of 44 new locations in Denver. There are currently 213 cultivation-only locations in the city, 146 retail-only locations and 64 combined locations, for a total of 423 facilities

Committee Chair Margie Valdez called the meeting to order and introduced Evelyn Baker, Deputy Director of the Community Planning and Development Department (CPD)
evelyn.baker@denvergov.org, 720-865-2823, who gave an overview of current and future CPD activities.
She and Margie indicated that there will be a second Citizen’s Planning Academy, co-sponsored by CPD and INC, later in 2016.