Mesa council to vote on if marijuana dispensaries can be located closer to each other

The Mesa City Council is set to vote Monday on an ordinance that would amend the zoning requirements for existing marijuana dispensaries in the city.

The council meets at 5:45 p.m. Feb. 5 in the council chambers, 57 E. First St.

The amendment would reduce the minimum distance requirement that marijuana dispensary]ies would be located from each other from 5,280 feet to 1,000 feet.

This amendment would only apply to the 12 existing dispensaries in the city.

To be eligible, a dispensary would need to be located on or relocated to a large industrial development. It would also need to be setback from a major roadway by at least 300 feet, and separated from the nearest dispensary by the major roadway.

This ordinance dates back to May 2023, where the Mesa planning and zoning board voted 5-0 — with two members not present — to recommend the zoning changes to the council.

The ordinance was set for a vote during the council’s Aug. 21 meeting, but the council postponed the vote in order to add more information to the ordinance. The Mesa planning and zoning board on Dec. 13 voted 7-0 to recommend approval of the new ordinance.

The ordinance will be voted on by the council during their Monday meeting as part of a consent agenda with a multitude of other items, including liquor licenses for business and renewed contracts for development.