LEWISTON — The City Council will decide Tuesday on updates to its marijuana ordinance, after some officials have questioned the number of marijuana businesses in the city.

The proposed updates mostly impact the required buffers between marijuana businesses and other uses, like schools and homes. It would also change how the city measures the buffers in an effort to make the ordinance more easily understood, city staff said.

If approved, it will mark the first major changes to how the city regulates marijuana businesses since 2019. Since that time, the marijuana industry has seen tremendous growth, and Maine’s second largest city has largely welcomed it.

In a memo to the council, David Hediger, director of planning and code enforcement, said the city has 29 active or pending license applications for grow operations, 27 active or pending retail licenses, and six active or pending applications for manufacturing licenses. As of November, Lewiston was tied with South Portland for the fourth-most adult-use marijuana business licenses in the state.

As staff was considering the updates, which Hediger said are overdue, some officials questioned whether the city has too many marijuana businesses.

Last week, the Planning Board requested the City Council “address and provide guidance regarding the number” of businesses, and consider a “possible cap of marijuana businesses in Lewiston along with consideration of buffers and setbacks of marijuana businesses from residential areas.”

On Tuesday, the council could vote to change the buffer between a marijuana business and schools and child care facilities from 750 feet to 1,000 feet, as well as the buffer between a marijuana business and a home from 300 feet to 100 feet. However, that provision would also shift how the city measures the distance, which according to Hediger, will actually limit new businesses.

Currently, the ordinance language states that the 300 feet is measured along an “ordinary course of travel” between the main entrance of a business and the main entrance of a home in a residential district. However, Hediger said this language has been problematic since the beginning, raising questions over what’s considered a main entrance and what route people generally take.

The change would measure the buffer “as the crow flies,” or from the property line of the residence to any part of the marijuana business. Hediger said not only is it much easier for people to understand, it’s also how the state defines buffers.

But, he said because large sections of Lewiston’s commercial zoning districts are narrow — areas like Lisbon, Sabattus and Main streets — it will likely limit the number of new businesses.

“If you make the buffer more than 100 (feet), you make it very difficult for businesses to be in a commercial corridor,” he told the council on Jan. 18.

He said the question for the council is “what is the impact we’re trying to protect here?”

He’s previously told the council that he doesn’t recommend a cap, but instead new “performance standards,” or buffers.

During an earlier council workshop, the council appeared split on requiring a cap on businesses, but more likely to approve the ordinance changes.

Councilor Linda Scott, who was previously on the Planning Board, said she’s heard from constituents with concerns about the number of stores.

Councilor Stephanie Gelinas said the number of businesses sounds like a lot, and that she understands the concerns, but said, “The reality is we don’t have people lining up to occupy these unoccupied spaces.”

“It can seem like a lot, but I’d rather see more marijuana stores than more empty stores,” Councilor Scott Harriman.

Councilor Rick Lachapelle said he’s a “strong believer in free market.”

“How many Dunkin’ Donuts are there? God bless them, they’re doing fine,” he said. “If there are too many (marijuana businesses), they’ll close down.”

According to Hediger’s memo, staff continues to receive requests every week from businesses looking to locate in Lewiston.

“The question is often asked, as was by the Planning Board, whether Lewiston has too many marijuana businesses,” he said. “The existing performance standards have been effective in limiting the number of businesses in Lewiston. The proposed changes will further limit opportunities in Lewiston.”

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