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BRANDON, S.D. — City officials in Brandon are taking a second look at their cannabis ordinances at the request of a local cultivator.
In April, medical marijuana cultivator Cannanaut submitted a letter to the Brandon City Council asking the city to re-evaluate its cannabis regulations, specifically to better align with other municipalities statewide.
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The organization had three main asks: lower the annual license fee, waive the annual renewal application fee and cut the insurance requirement for cultivators in half.
According to Cannanaut’s Joshua DeGriselles, cultivation licenses in larger cities including Sioux Falls and Rapid City range from $2,500 to $7,500, whereas Brandon’s annual licensing fee currently sits at $11,048.
That number is established by the city’s medical marijuana ordinance, adopted in 2021, which sets the annual licensing fee at one dollar per resident according to the most recent U.S. Census.
Council President Barb Fish felt the per-resident fee was appropriate, as it followed a similar formula to the city’s off-sale liquor licensing, which is also population-based.
Mayor Harry Buck indicated that he’d like to remain competitive with other municipalities, and tasked Finance Officer Katie Redden to continue her research into other cities’ ordinances.
In addition to the license fee, cultivators are also required to pay $5,000 to apply for renewal and carry an insurance policy of no less than $2 million per location.
In its letter, Cannanaut said the application fee doesn’t appear to be a standard practice in other municipalities across South Dakota and asked the city to waive it for renewals. It also requested the city to slash the insurance requirement in half for cultivators, who conduct wholesale transactions to licensed dispensaries, and thus carry less risk.
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A city official told the council the renewal fee doesn’t require as much work to evaluate and process, so long as an establishment hasn’t made significant changes to an operation, indicating the city could consider a reduction or waiver.
Council members tabled the item with minimal discussion, vowing to take a deeper look into the request ahead of a future meeting.
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