KENNEBUNK — The 180-day retail marijuana moratorium approved by voters on Tuesday, Feb. 28, has a retroactive date of Oct. 11, 2016 — which means it will expire on April 11 unless selectmen choose to extend it.

The town’s Planning Department is expected to soon begin the process of writing an ordinance, but an extension seems likely. 

The moratorium was designed to give municipal planners time to study the town’s codes to determine the land use and other regulatory implications of retail marijuana establishments.

Town Clerk Merton Brown said the selectman’s board may extend  the moratorium by 90 days; if that happens by April 11, the moratorium would last to July 11.

Town Planner Judy Bernstein on Wednesday said she expects there will be several workshops with the town’s Planning Board prior to any acting on an ordinance addressing retail recreational marijuana. Right now, she said, the Planning Board’s agendas are full.

Bernstein said the Planning Department will likely put together a proposed ordinance — with legal  guidance — to get the Planning Board started. 

The Legislature’s Marijuana Implementation Committee took public comment on Tuesday, Feb. 28, in Augusta on subjects such as how to regulate and tax the substance, according  to The Associates Press. Also Tuesday, the Maine Municipal Association held an event called “Lifting the Haze: Marijuana and Legal Considerations.” The municipal association’s event was booked to capacity, the AP said. It was  designed to help local officials manage the legal and economic decisions stemming from legalization of marijuana.

Kennebunk began the process of adopting a moratorium prior to the Nov. 8 election that approved the  recreational use marijuana. That action was before the Legislature’s decision to extend rule-making through February 2018.

There were 366 votes in favor and 83 against the referendum, according to election results provided by Deputy Town Clerk Carrie Weeman.

The moratorium applies to the location, operation or licensing of retail marijuana social clubs and retail establishments including stores, cultivation facilities, marijuana products manufacturing facilities and  testing facilities within the town limits.

Passage of the moratorium also halts locating, operating or licensing any new medical marijuana cultivation, facilities or dispensaries under the town’s zoning ordinances.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].