North Lewisburg Village Council on Tuesday unanimously passed its first reading of an ordinance that would allow the village to prohibit medical marijuana cultivators, processors and retail dispensaries within its confines.
According to the ordinance, restricting the areas where that business may operate is “necessary and proper to protect the health, safety, welfare, comfort and peace” of the village.
“We had a hearing about medical marijuana sometime ago,” said Mayor Cheryl Hollingsworth. “The consensus of the group that was there that (meeting) said they didn’t want it sold in the village.”
If fully approved, this ordinance would state that no person or entity shall “cultivate, process, dispense or sell” medical marijuana within the corporate limits of the village, including having business or commercial enterprise ties to medical marijuana.
Additionally, the ordinance wouldn’t allow any zoning clearances, permits, variances or any other administrative approval to any entity wanting to open up a business involving medical marijuana.
The second ordinance read at the meeting involved granting a “perpetual” easement to Legacy Pipeline Services, LLC. This would let Legacy construct a pipeline system throughout the village to supply it with natural gas services.
The council unanimously passed the reading as an emergency vote.
“This just means that (Legacy) hopes to bring natural gas to our community and we’ll have an option of signing up for it,” Hollingsworth said. “That could save us some money, which would be a good thing.”
The pipeline would be constructed along the rights-of-way along the village’s roads, going through and under streets, avenues, alleys, lanes, sidewalks and other public property.
Under the ordinance, when the pipeline is done and it has started its services, the easement would be transferred to the North Lewisburg Natural Gas Cooperative, an Ohio nonprofit corporation serving the village and other nearby areas affected by the construction.
According to the ordinance, all public and private property “disturbed in said construction or operation shall be repaired within 45 days of completion of work” at the expense of Legacy.
The easement would be “expressly conditioned” upon Legacy obtaining a performance bond no less than $100,000 to get the work done.
The final ordinance read involved the times for curfews for minors. This was already established as an ordinance and was presented as a reminder.
The council wished to remind residents the curfew times for children under the age of 16 are between 10 p.m. and 6 p.m. The curfew times for those under the age of 18 are between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
“You should all know where your children are,” Hollingsworth said.
Later in the meeting, resident Carla Jackson asked about when the bike path extension in town would be completed.
“There are some of us outside the city limits who need to know when there maybe people walking or working on it,” Jackson said. “It would be helpful if we knew someone was out there.”
Village administrator Andy Yoder said the council “doesn’t know yet,” as the work done to the bike path has been on a volunteer basis. He said it’s going to be a process “a long time down the road” to talk about.
Also at the meeting, the council announced it has received a reimbursement of $3,430 for its mosquito-spraying this summer via the health department of Champaign County.
The council also reminded residents leaf pickup will run through Nov. 30, with weather permitting. The council recommended rocks, sticks and leaves must be located on the edge of a curb or street.
The council also announced there is a position available on the village council following the resignation of councilmember Susan Woodard, and the village will be accepting applications and resumes for it.
Finally, at the meeting, the council planned its next meeting to take place on Dec. 12, starting at 6:30 p.m., with a Christmas party to follow. The village’s Christmas parade will also be held Dec. 10.