February 2024

Minnetonka city staff researched and collected community feedback regarding an ordinance limiting cannabis use in public places. Input was received in three ways: outreach to tobacco retailers in the city, pop-up events, and an online survey hosted by Minnetonka Matters.

• Tobacco Retailers: There are 27 retailers in the city that sell tobacco products. These retailers were invited to complete a survey (identical to the online survey) about where cannabis should be allowed to be used.
  • One retailer responded and provided feedback that the city should prohibit smoking or vaping of cannabis (edibles allowed) at bus/transit stops and at city properties/facilities. The retailer did not support restricting use on sidewalks, parks or trails.
• Pop-up events: There were five pop-up events. The pop-up events asked questions about the locations where the city should or should not allow cannabis use.
  • Staff or the information boards were present at the joint Park Board and City Council meeting (Sept. 6, 2023); Farmer’s Market (Sept. 26, 2023); Williston Center (Oct. 5-10, 2023); The Marsh (October 5-10, 2023) City-Wide Open House (Oct. 10, 2023).
  • The most input was received at Williston, followed by the City-Wide Open House.
    • Overall, 693 dots were placed in the location categories that would not allow the use of cannabis in any form.
    • There were 438 dots in the location categories for prohibiting the smoking of cannabis but allowing edibles to be consumed.
    • There were 215 dots that supported no restrictions.
• Online Survey:The online survey was available from Sept. 29 until Oct. 31, 2023.
  • There were 930 responses provided for the survey.
  • The demographics from the survey respondents indicated 88% were Minnetonka residents.
  • The respondents included a fairly even cross-section of age (slightly higher in the 65 and older category); 85% of the respondents identified as white, and slightly more females answered the survey than males (.6% identified as non-binary/other).
  • Depending on the public location identified, the majority (76-89%) of respondents did not support smoking or vaping cannabis.
  • A little less than half of those same respondents were supportive of allowing the consumption of edibles.
  • When asked about private property with public access, respondents were more mixed, changing the respondents’ view for no restrictions to about 40%.
  • Many of the respondents were concerned about secondhand smoke and the use of cannabis in front of minors.
  • There was also concern for access to cannabis by youth and the smell of cannabis smoke.

See attached survey results for more detailed information and open-ended comments provided.