A: | Yes, you can apply to the municipality for a municipal license and special land use permit before the state Marijuana Control Board issues your license. To apply to the municipality, you must have initiated a state application and heard from the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office (AMCO) that your application is complete. You may not apply to the Municipality before the state indicates that your state application is complete. |
Q: | I'm not sure if my location meets the required separation distance from a protected land use. What should I do? |
A: | Once you have identified a potential location for your marijuana establishment, make sure you are familiar with the land use regulations and the protected land uses in particular. Look over the map of protected land uses identified by the municipality here. Walk around the blocks adjacent to your location and look for signs of any of the protected land uses; make a note of anything you think might qualify. Contact the Planning Department at 343-7931 or MJLandUse@muni.org to go over your location with a planner. If it appears that a protected land use may be close to the required separation distance, you may be asked to hire a surveyor to take a measurement. |
Q: | If I have a cultivation facility and a retail store in the same building, do I need to submit one or two applications to the municipality? |
A: | Each different facility requires its own application and fee payment. So a cultivation facility and retail store in the same building would require two applications and two fee payments--one for each facility. |
Q: | Is there a form letter to use to send notice of a community meeting to nearby residents? |
A: | There is no form letter. Please reference AMC 21.03.020H.1. for additional information. Your notice of community meeting should include a brief description of your project; the type of facility you are proposing; the facility's location; the date, time and location of the community meeting; and contact information where additional information can be found. The Planning Department can provide you with a mailing list of residents and property owners within 500 feet of your proposed location. Please call the Planning Department at 343-7931 or email to MJLandUse@muni.org to request a mailing list. |
Q: | The state requires me to send a public notice of my application to the local government and the community council. Who should I send to? |
A: | At the Municipality of Anchorage, send your public notice form to MJGeneral@muni.org. Community council contact information can be found here. |
Q: | I am planning to open a cultivation facility. How do I get a letter from my electric utility? |
A: | The three electric utilities that serve Anchorage are Municipal Light and Power (ML&P), Chugach Electric Association (CEA), and Matanuska Electric Association (MEA). A map of the service areas and contact information for each utility can be found here. |
Q: | I am planning to open a retail store. How do I get a food handler permit? |
A: | Contact the Department of Health and Human Services at 343-4200. |
Q: | What is a neighborhood responsibility plan? |
A: | Neighborhood responsibility planning is a tool to engage with residents, businesses, and the community council in the area surrounding the location of a proposed marijuana retail store, to facilitate integration of a new business into the community, and to develop a mutually beneficial relationship between the retail store and the neighborhood. AO 2016-27(S) provides guidelines for neighborhood responsibility planning and also contains a sample template for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between a marijuana retail store and a community council. However, while an MOU is encouraged and desirable, it is not a requirement. AMC 21.05.055B.4.b.vi. notes that in the absence of an MOU, an applicant for a marijuana retail store may provide a “report on the status of community engagement efforts.” The Assembly, as part of its approval criteria (AMC 21.03.105C.7.) will determine whether the owner/operator of a marijuana retail store has meaningfully engaged in neighborhood responsibility planning. |
Q: | I own a marijuana retail store. How do I pay my taxes to the municipality? |
A: | The Treasury Division of the Municipal Finance Department is responsible for collecting the marijuana retail sales tax. Go to their website for more information. |
Q: | I would like to have a limited cultivation facility in my home--may I do this? |
A: | No. Commercial marijuana facilities are not permitted in any residential zoning districts or on any property that contains a dwelling unit (other than a caretaker's apartment). |
Q: | I am a community council president. Is there a form for community councils to use to provide feedback to the Assembly? Who should I send the community council feedback to? |
A: | There is no form to provide feedback to the Assembly. Some community councils choose to pass a resolution to provide to the Assembly. Other councils draft and send a letter. Whatever form your council's feedback takes, you can send it to MJGeneral@muni.org by noon on the Friday before the public hearing, for distribution to all Assembly members. If you miss the Friday deadline, it may be better to come testify in person before the Assembly, as the members may not have time to read comments that are laid on the table at the meeting. You may also contact your Assembly member directly—Assembly contact information can be found here. |
Q: | How do I provide comment on a proposed marijuana establishment to the Assembly? |
A: | You may comment on a specific application for a proposed marijuana establishment through the municipality’s CityView Portal. In the search field below the map, enter either the case number (if known), the establishment name (if known), or the word “marijuana” (and then select from the various cases displayed). Click on “Planning Status” and then “Submit case comments” on the left side of the Summary section. |
Q: | How can I get notification of marijuana establishments proposed in my neighborhood? |
A: | You can sign up to receive an email whenever a marijuana establishment application is submitted to the municipality. You can sign up for notifications within your community council, several community councils near you, or all community councils. Go to the CityView Portal and sign up following these instructions. |