Powell will remain off-limits to marijuana dispensaries until at least the end of 2027 after City Council unanimously extended its moratorium on cannabis businesses Sept. 1.

The vote on Resolution 2026-47 buys Council 16 more months to decide whether to ban dispensaries outright, allow them with restrictions or let state law take its course. The moratorium expires Dec. 31, 2027, or whenever Council adopts zoning amendments for marijuana uses, whichever comes first.

The extension caps months of debate over cannabis in Powell's broader zoning code rewrite.

How the zoning rewrite changed the debate

Council directed a full replacement of Powell's 30-year-old zoning code in 2025. Staff and consultants spent 18 months drafting the new rules, according to a city statement.

On July 15, the Powell Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended the updated code to Council. That version would have made the temporary dispensary ban permanent by writing it into the zoning code.

Public pushback followed.

City Manager Andy White told Council on Aug. 6 that the cannabis language drew unexpected public attention after it was introduced. "We received some feedback from the public. It wasn't something that was overly talked through," he said.

At that Aug. 6 meeting, Council voted 4-3 to strip all cannabis prohibitions from the new code. Vice Mayor Tom Counts, Councilman Leif Carlson and Councilman Kurt Ramsey voted to keep the ban language. The amended zoning code took effect Sept. 4.

Removing the ban language did not open the door to dispensaries because the existing moratorium was still in place, set to expire Sept. 4.

Staff mapped out where dispensaries could go

Before the Sept. 1 Council meeting, the Development Committee heard a presentation from Planning Administrator Claudia Husak and Planning Director Logan Stang. The two surveyed eight Ohio cities that have adopted different dispensary restrictions, the Delaware Source reported.

Husak told the committee that some cities require greater distances from schools, churches and parks than the state-mandated 500 feet. Others limit the number of dispensaries, restrict operating hours or confine them to certain zones.

She identified Powell's newly established commercial, flex-industrial and downtown-mixed zones as potential dispensary locations. Staff presented maps showing how state requirements would apply within city limits.

Council members split on approach

Councilman Tyler Herrmann said he favors conditional-use permitting over by-right approval if he votes to allow dispensaries at all. He also suggested the city survey residents for feedback. White said he would look into it, noting a recent e-bike survey drew more than 100 responses.

Counts pushed back on the survey idea, saying Council should make the decision. Councilman David Lester agreed.

Development Committee members Shaun Simpson and Carlos Crawford opposed an outright ban. "I don't know why we would turn down an income generator," Simpson said.

An Ohio State University analysis cited by the Delaware Source found that an average dispensary generates roughly $175,000 a year for its host municipality through the state's Host Community Cannabis Fund. That fund returns 36% of Ohio's 10% adult-use excise tax to communities that allow dispensary locations.

What comes next

White told the Columbus Dispatch the moratorium gives Council until the end of 2027 to settle on regulations or an outright prohibition, and that the process will include public discussion.

No specific date has been set for the next Council discussion on cannabis zoning amendments. Staff plan to bring refined maps and draft options to Council before the moratorium expires, the city said.