It’s not only city governments that have concerns about marijuana being legalized in Minnesota. This week, Lyon County Commissioners talked about drafting an ordinance prohibiting the use of cannabis in county-owned public spaces like parks and fairgrounds.

After discussion at Tuesday’s county board meeting, commissioners set Sept. 5 as a date to hold a public hearing on a cannabis ordinance. The proposed ordinance will need to be published 10 days before the hearing, said Lyon County Attorney Abby Wikelius.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Wikelius and Lyon County Administrator Loren Stomberg said they were looking for direction on a possible cannabis ordinance.

“There’s been a lot of discussion with neighboring counties about putting restrictions on the use of cannabis in public spaces,” Stomberg said. For Lyon County, they would likely want restrictions for county parks and the Lyon County fairgrounds, he said.

Stomberg said some cities within Lyon County, including Marshall and Tracy, were already setting their own restrictions on using cannabis in public places.

The Tracy City Council passed an emergency ordinance that prohibited the use of cannabis products in public places in Tracy, including streets and sidewalks, publicly-owned property, parks and parking lots.

On Monday, Marshall City Council members also passed an emergency ordinance prohibiting the use of cannabis in public places. According to the Marshall ordinance, cannabis use would be restricted except in private residences or yards, on private property that is inaccessible to the public, and at establishments or events licensed for on-site consumption of cannabis or hemp products. A violation of the ordinance is punishable by a $200 fine.

Earlier this summer, the city of Marshall also passed an ordinance putting a temporary halt to commercial sale or distribution of cannabis products. The city ordinance made an exception for the municipal liquor store, which is allowed to sell lower-potency hemp edibles.

Wikelius said that if Lyon County wanted to set its own cannabis ordinance, it would need to hold a public hearing first. The proposed ordinance would also need to be published 10 days before the hearing.

County commissioners said one concern was whether it would be possible to prohibit cannabis use at the Lyon County fairgrounds during next week’s fair.

“I think we could say that the fairgrounds are in the city limits of Marshall, and would fall under their ordinance,” said Commissioner Paul Graupmann.

Wikelius said she thought the Marshall city ordinance would be enforceable in city limits.

Commissioners also agreed that restricting cannabis use at parks and on county property would be good parameters for a draft ordinance. They opted to set a public hearing for Sept. 5, in order to give county staff time to flesh out an ordinance.