HomeMy WebLinkAbout02092026 City Council Laydown - AMCOCity Clerk 2-page Laydown for February 9, 2026 City Council Meeting
Letter from AMCO upon reviewing marijuana regulations
RE: Numerical limits for licenses based on population count:
The question of how the ordinance, if enacted, would affect AMCO applications is one I am
not able to definitively answer. I will bring this topic to our agency attorney.
I am not aware of any other jurisdiction that has placed a limit on marijuana licenses
available based on population count. After reading the memo only, not the proposed
ordinance language, I do have some thoughts regarding numerical limits based on
population because our alcohol side has historically worked this way. I am listing below my
thoughts and some information on how this works in alcohol and using alcohol examples.
For how many licenses can be issued, alcohol divides license types into six categories (three
of which are based on population count -highlighted in yellow):
1. License types with no limits for issuance. (Example is, Outdoor Recreation Lodge,
Common Carrier - a vessel, airplane, or railroad)
2. Restaurant licenses under AS 04.09.210 can be issued at 1 per 1500 or fraction of that
population.
3. Additional Restaurant licenses under AS 04.09.210 can be `approved' bythe board through
AS 04.11.405 (petition by local government to add additional restaurant licenses). None of
these `additional' licenses are within the population count and are therefore considered
'over count'.
4. Seasonal Restaurant Tourism licenses under AS 04.09.360 amounts are allowed by the
board and based on tourism numbers for the community.
4. Brewery, Winery, and Distillery Retail can be issued at 1 per 4000 or fraction of that
population. (This will change to 1 per 9000 or fraction of that population in a few years)
5. All other license types (Example Package Store, Beverage Dispensary, Club, etc. etc) can
be issued at 1 per 3000 or fraction of that population.
It looks like the ordinance places a numerical limit on marijuana retail stores only. It seems
then that no limit is contemplated for marijuana cultivators, marijuana product
manufacturers, and marijuana testing facilities.
Alcoholwording uses"' per 3000 or fraction of that population'. So, if your population is 3001
you are allowed 2 license spots.
Laydown from AMCO
Because population fluctuates the amount of license spots may fluctuate. (Though in
Seward, this may be fairly stable over time.) Therefore, in alcohol, we work with the idea that
there may be licenses in existence that are 'over count' or `grandfathered'. Though the word
'over count' is better to use as one year the population might go down while the next year it
goes up again making a 'over count' license now `within the count'.
A mention on how alcohol licenses attrit (spots go away).
In alcohol, all licenses have the same rights and can renew, transfer ownership and location
as long as the license remains active. However, there are some clear rules that allow for
attrition of a license should that license `expire' and the jurisdiction count at that time
showed there were more licenses than allowed by population (over count). Say, a licensee
surrendered their license because they went out of business. Once expired, and if the
jurisdiction was 'over count', that license spot goes away. In addition, there are clear rules
in alcohol that do not allow a licensee who was expired for non -renewal to simply `reinstate'
their license if, within the jurisdiction there are licenses over the population count.
How will population be calculated?
Alcohol is required to use the population figures that are released by DOLWD. Typically,
DOLWD updates the population figures yearly using information from the census, though the
timeframe this update might happen varies a lot. We use the information posted
here: https://live.laborstats.alaska.gov/data-pages/alaska-population-estimates (then link
to the excel spreadsheet under Cities and Census Designated Places (CDPs), 2020 to 2025
This particular data set was just updated January 28, 2026 by DOLWD to include population
figures for 2025. Our office has not yet updated our license counts and we are still using
counts from 2024 population figures.
Alcohol also is required to remove prison population from our counting methodology.
How and when will population counts be updated (and by whom)?
In alcohol, once DOLWD releases the last years new population figures, our staff counts
license spots. However, for new spots opening, and for existing spots being removed, this
doesn't officially happen until the Director `approves' the change. At that point, the new
license counts and population figures are posted on our website and take `effect'.
I can't say what is the right direction for your community, but purely from an administrative
perspective, an ordinance enacting a static numerical limit just seems easier to manage
than one that enacts a numerical limit based on a fluctuating population count.
Kristina Serezhenkov, Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office
Laydown from AMCO