Glens Falls looking to regulate retail cannabis businesses

The Glens Falls Common Council will take public comment on changes to the city’s zoning regulations that would require proposed retail cannabis outlets in the city to go before the planning board for a site plan review before they can open.

Some zones, or locations in the city where retail businesses are allowed to operate, would not normally require a site plan review.

While none of the five applications from people interested in opening cannabis stores in Glens Falls have been approved yet, this is a proactive measure for if and when that does happen. The amendment to the zoning code would add a definition for “Adult Use Recreational Retail” to the code, as well as ensure that all such stores have to present to the planning board.

“So any new bar or cannabis dispensary that’s already in a zone that might not need to go in front of the planning board, we just want them to go in front of the planning board for site plan,” Mayor Bill Collins said.

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Under state law, retail cannabis can be sold either in a dispensary, similar to a liquor store. Dispensaries allow sales of cannabis for consumption at home; it may not be consumed at the dispensary. Cannabis may also be sold at cafes, similar to bars. Cafes allow on-site consumption, but the people may not leave with the product.

“We don’t want to regulate too much more than the state already does. And we certainly don’t want six of them downtown. We’d like one. We think the sales tax and the benefits of having one dispensary in Glens Falls would be great,” Collins added.

Earlier this year, the state reported that it had issued 503 licenses in 2024. The licenses cover all aspect of cannabis sales from growing and production to processing the plant into a consumable good and to retail sales.