Lakeland city staff has carved out about 1,000 acres of highway commercial and light industrial zoned areas that medical marijuana dispensaries would be allowed to move into if ultimately approved by the City Commission.

Four of the seven city commissioners supported the staff's proposal in a meeting Friday, while others want to see some changes before it goes to the Planning and Zoning Board in May and the commission for a vote in June. 

Staff is proposing medical marijuana dispensaries:

• Be located within C-2 and I-1 zoned districts with 500-foot separation from schools, daycare centers, park and recreation centers, playgrounds, libraries, churches, synagogues and other houses of worship.

• Be limited in size to 4,000 square feet.

• Be separated from other dispensaries by 2,000 feet.

• Prohibit drive-thru facilities.

• Prohibit outdoor displays.

• Prohibit consumption of marijuana and alcohol on the premises.

Mayor Howard Wiggs and commissioners Jim Malless, Phillip Walker and Edie Yates gave the proposal a thumbs up, although the others would like to see some leniency.

"It's ironic, really, that it's easier to open a place that serves alcohol and tobacco that cause disease than a place that sells medicine that alleviates pain and disease," Commissioner Don Salvage said.

Commissioners agreed on one thing: dispensaries shouldn't have a 500-foot buffer from residential properties.

Teresa Maio, the city's planning manager, asked commissioners whether they would want to add that extra limitation, but it would have reduced the area available for dispensaries from 1,063 acres to 86 acres at the far outer limits of the city.

"We don't want them on our outskirts," Commissioner Justin Troller said. "We want to encourage business and development because if we don't get with the times, we're going to lose some tax revenue."

Malless added that the dispensaries, which are supposed to provide medical treatment to patients, shouldn't be too far away from residential areas so that transportation is not an issue.

But commissioners couldn't agree on the size limit, prohibition of drive-thru facilities and prohibition of outdoor displays in the proposed policy.

Salvage questioned why the policy for medical marijuana dispensaries is more restrictive than policies for alcohol and tobacco retailers.

"Perception," Maio said. "It's really going to be something that perhaps we see how these (dispensaries) develop over time (and) if there's more of a comfort level with them, there's always the opportunity to go back and expand."

Commissioners asked whether dispensaries would be able to go through a conditional use process — a zoning exception that allows a property owner use of land in a way not otherwise permitted within the particular zoning district.

Maio said that's not an option in the proposal.

Yates said she wouldn't support adding a conditional use clause.

"You don't want every vendor coming in here telling you how they want to strike a deal," Yates said. "Set the parameters and if we don't like the parameters, we have the ability to change the parameters."

The commission is scheduled to vote Monday on whether to extend its temporary ban on medical marijuana dispensaries for 60 more days as the policy process plays out. The 90-day moratorium will expire this month if not extended.

Municipalities have enacted moratoriums to allow time to see how the Florida Legislature and Florida Department of Health write regulations after voters in the Nov. 8 election approved Amendment 2 to legalize medical marijuana. The state will adopt regulations in July and begin issuing patient identification cards in October.