The Sherburne County Board last week passed a new ordinance prohibiting the use of cannabis products in public places within the county.

Illegal producs under the ordinance include cannabis flower, cannabis products, lower-potency hemp edibles or hemp-derived consumer products.

The county ordinance will supersede any city ordinances, except St. Cloud and Princeton. Both cities are part of multiple counties.

The ordinance also excludes cities with populations of more than 25,000. That means Elk River’s ordinance is not impacted by the county’s action. Elk River’s ordinance, which was passed by the city council on Aug. 7, bans smoking and vaping in public places. Low-potency hemp edibles, edible cannabis products and THC-infused drinks are not prohibited under the ordinance.

The ordinance does not restrict cannabis use on private property.

The board also approved amendments to county park regulations prohibiting the use of cannabis flower, cannabis products, lower-potency hemp edibles or hemp-derived consumer products in Sherburne County Parks and Trails. The amendment establishes a petty misdemeanor penalty for use of the regulated products or for smoking or vaping in general in Sherburne County Parks and Trails.

The park amendments cover all county parks and trails regardless of whether they are in those cities not covered in the new ordinance.

Discriminatory Covenants

The board passed a resolution disavowing the past practice of discriminatory covenants as illegal and unenforceable, and authorizing an agreement with the University of Minnesota’s Libraries to participate in its Mapping Prejudice Project.

Mapping Prejudice identifies and maps racial covenants - clauses that were inserted into property deeds to keep people who were not White from buying or occupying homes. The University of Minnesota Libraries collaborates with local communities to identify such past practices.

Lake District Budget

The board approved the proposed 2024 budget of the Three Lake Improvement District (TLID), and approved assessing the costs of identified projects on benefiting priorities within the District.

The request is to place a $34,408.60 assessment on the county tax rolls. Based on the current TLID assessment list of 430, individual property assessments would equate to $80.02. The 2023 assessment per property was $149.31.

Emergency Services Grant

The board accepted an Emergency Services Program (ESP) Grant Award of $175,000 on behalf of the Health & Human Services Dept. to continue to fund the Housing Outreach Social Work position and provide direct assistance funding to prevent homelessness and/or stabilize housing for families and individuals.

Other Business

In other actions the board:

• Approved the revocation of an existing Conditional Use Permit at the request of the property owner because the land application of wastewater treatment plan residue is no longer located on the property in Princeton;

• Approved entering into an agreement with Sambatek, LLC to provide design and construction engineering phase services for the construction of two roundabouts on Co. Rd. 4 at Co. Rd. 46 and at Co. Rd. 11 at a cost of $369,700.