Philly Council rejects Mayor Kenney’s attempt to open a door to recreational marijuana sales

Mayor Jim Kenney vetoed a bill Thursday that seeks to stymie the future transformation of medical marijuana facilities to recreational sales. Shortly afterward City Council, on its first day back after the summer recess, overturned the veto on a 14-0 vote.

The bill covers the districts of Councilmembers Brian J. O’Neill, who represents Far Northeast Philadelphia, and Curtis Jones Jr., who represents parts of West and Northwest Philadelphia.

Although recreational marijuana is illegal in Pennsylvania, people who have a medical license can purchase the drug. There are three medical marijuana distributors in Jones’ district and two in O’Neill’s district.

Introduced in May, their bill states that medical marijuana dispensaries “shall not include a person authorized to dispense marijuana for recreational or other nonmedical purposes.”

A Kenney spokesperson said he vetoed the bill because it “creates unnecessary complexity” by setting special rules that apply only to a sliver of the city. He also argued it is premature, given that recreational weed is still illegal and the restriction could be preempted by future state legislation.

“Furthermore, the mayor wants to avoid creating barriers to local businesses who want to expand their current portfolios in the event that the laws change,” said Sarah Peterson, a spokesperson for the administration.

Kenney and his administration have frequently opposed zoning overlays that create hyperlocal regulations covering specific Council districts or just particular neighborhoods or commercial corridors within them.

In June Kenney vetoed a bill from Jones that required grocery stores, restaurants, pharmacies, convenience stores, and other kinds of businesses to win approval from the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) if they tried to open along particular roadways in his district.

But due to the tradition of councilmanic prerogative, in which the rest of the body votes in support of district members on matters of land use and streets in their district, Council overturned Kenney’s veto on Thursday. Councilmember Jamie Gauthier was not in attendance.

In response to both mayoral vetoes and general criticism of Council’s zoning overlay-happy ways, Jones said that such legislation is simply a means to force businesses to meet with community groups before they move forward with their plans.

“Community should have the input on where things go,” Jones said. “When the medical side came in, they swore up and down that we will not do recreational marijuana. And as soon as the probability of recreation came past, they want to flip the script to be able to be eligible. Well, no.”

Council members have long made the novel argument that laws that forbid certain activities are not actually a hard ban because applicants can seek variances or special exceptions from the zoning board. Instead, they see such laws as a way to force meetings with neighborhood groups.

Before ZBA cases reach a hearing, applicants have to meet with the local registered community organization, which is what Council members like Jones say they want because it ensures that the neighborhood gets heard. The community group then supports or opposes the case at the zoning hearing, which can (but does not always) sway the board.

Most interests who have to go before the ZBA, however, say that it is a serious barrier to entry — especially for businesses and organizations that don’t have the resources or political connections. Wait times have ballooned since the pandemic — in 2022 lasting as long as six months. That can put small business owners at a particular disadvantage because they don’t have the financial resources to pay a mortgage and utilities on an empty storefront while they wait.

Even for large real estate developers, time is money, and the uncertainty adds costs to those trying to do business in the city. The zoning board does rule in favor of applicants more than its counterparts in other jurisdictions but is less likely to if there is opposition from neighborhood groups or Council members.

The Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition has argued that Jones’ bill would punish medical marijuana operators who have opened in the two Council districts in question and may want to expand if recreational marijuana becomes legal.

“The Pa. Cannabis Coalition was thrilled with the mayor’s decision to veto this bill, which unfairly restricts consumer access to the safe, regulated cannabis market,” said Jamie Ware, president of the Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition. “We are disappointed that City Council overrode the veto, rather than sitting down with the cannabis industry to determine the best approach for safe access in Philadelphia.”

Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article.