WINONA, Minn. – The City Council voted 4-3 to exempt a Sugar Loaf Road address from zoning rules to allow a marijuana retailer to set up shop. The zoning change had been requested by Rachel Scott, a graphic designer who manages the existing North Castle screen-printing shop at the address. To allay neighborhood objections to the zoning variance, the Council required that:
> No outdoor signs visible from a nearby childcare center.
> A solid 6-foot fence be built to obscure the east side of parking lot.
> Signages not be visible from West Burns Valley Road.
> The shop not allow on-site cannabis consumption.
The North Castle screen-printing business is owned by Hugo Hernandez. The city Zoning Adjustment Board had recommended the variance. How Council members voted:
1260 Sugar Load Road. Screen-printing shop seeks to expand product line. Oppose was City Council member George Borzyskowski, in whose ward the North Castle shop is located.
To rezone
Jerome Christenson (at-large)
Jason Dicus (at-large)
Scott Sherman (mayor)
Sam Zierden Shortridge (3rd Ward, downtown)
Against
George Borzyskowski (4th Ward, East End)
Jeff Hymes (2nd Ward, West Side)
Steve Young (1st Ward, West End)