Pataskala Council gives second reading to proposal to prohibit commercial marijuana cultivation, processing and dispensing
Ordinance 2026-4526, a proposed zoning code amendment that would prohibit the commercial cultivation, processing and dispensing of recreational or medical marijuana in every zoning district, received its second reading at the November 2 Pataskala City Council meeting. A second reading is not adoption, and the ordinance has not been adopted.
By PataskalaOH.com Staff · · Updated
Pataskala City Council held a public hearing October 19 on a proposed zoning code amendment that would prohibit the commercial cultivation, processing and dispensing of recreational or medical marijuana in every zoning district in the city. Later that evening, at Council's regular meeting, the proposal was introduced as Ordinance 2026-4526 and received its first reading, according to the City's official meeting videos and the ordinance posted by the Clerk of Council.
Council gave the ordinance a second reading at its regular meeting on November 2. The November 2 agenda lists Ordinance 2026-4526 for a "Second Reading," and the City's official video of the meeting shows the ordinance being read, with no vote on it.
A reading is not a vote to adopt the ordinance. The copy of Ordinance 2026-4526 posted by the City lists an introduction date of October 19, 2026, with the adopted and effective dates blank. City records reviewed by PataskalaOH.com do not show that the ordinance has been adopted or that it is in effect. Further Council action would be needed before it could take effect, and those records do not show when Council will next consider it.
At the hearing, the City's Planning Director presented the proposed amendments. No members of the public offered comments, according to the City's video. The ordinance states that its amendments are set out in an Exhibit A. The descriptions of the proposed changes below come from the City's ZON-26-003 Planning and Zoning staff report and its code-amendment redline, which the Planning Director summarized at the hearing.
The staff-report version would add Section 1221.08 to the zoning code. That section says the commercial cultivation, processing and dispensing of recreational or medical marijuana would not be permitted in any zoning district within the City of Pataskala.
The proposal would also remove three existing marijuana-related chapters: Chapter 715, which establishes a City licensing system for medical marijuana cultivators and processors; Chapter 745, which prohibits medical marijuana retail dispensaries from locating or doing business in the city; and Chapter 1299, which permits medical cultivators and processors under specified conditions while prohibiting medical dispensaries.
Under the existing code described in the staff report, medical cultivators and processors may operate under specified requirements, while medical marijuana retail dispensaries are already prohibited. The proposed amendment would replace those provisions with the broader zoning prohibition covering commercial cultivation, processing and dispensing of both recreational and medical marijuana.
Other proposed changes would remove marijuana-related definitions and conditional-use criteria, including separation requirements, and remove production, processing or sale of marijuana as a conditional use in the Planned Manufacturing District. The staff report says earlier marijuana code changes were made in a piecemeal fashion and did not always align with one another.
The proposal follows changes in Ohio law after voters approved State Issue 2 in November 2023. City planning records say Pataskala adopted a marijuana moratorium in 2024 and extended it twice. The current moratorium expires December 31, 2026. According to the staff report, the proposed prohibition would avoid another extension while giving Council a "clean slate" if it later chooses to allow such uses.
The Development Committee recommended that the proposed amendment proceed through the code-amendment process on May 4, according to the staff report. The Pataskala Planning and Zoning Commission considered application ZON-26-003 on August 5 and voted 5-1 to recommend approval to City Council.
That recommendation is not final Council approval. As of November 2, Ordinance 2026-4526 had received a first reading on October 19 and a second reading on November 2. City records reviewed by PataskalaOH.com do not show a Council vote to adopt it.
The proposed zoning language addresses commercial cultivation, processing and dispensing. The materials reviewed do not establish a change to laws governing possession or personal use, do not say whether any affected marijuana business currently operates in Pataskala, and do not establish how existing businesses would be treated.
PataskalaOH.com will update this story when the City posts minutes of the October 19 or November 2 meetings or publishes further Council action on Ordinance 2026-4526.
Related guides: Planning and Zoning in Pataskala, Explained · How Pataskala City Government Works
Source: City of Pataskala — Clerk of Council (Ordinance 2026-4526) and Council meeting videos