Loveland council advances marijuana-tax code update after correcting ballot language

The Loveland City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the first reading of Ordinance No. 6840, updating city code to reflect voter-approved taxes on retail marijuana sales. Before adopting the ordinance, council separately voted 8-0 to amend the measure’s second "whereas" clause so it matched the ballot language approved by voters in 2024.

The ordinance amends sections 8.10.140 and 3.16.020 of the Loveland Municipal Code. In practice, it removes a reference to marijuana "use tax," adds the 5% excise tax authorized by Ballot Issue 2F, and cross-references where residents can find the marijuana tax provisions in city code. The first-reading approval also keeps the item on track for a second reading scheduled July 8.

Council Member Zeke Cortez raised the issue before the staff presentation, saying he noticed that language in the ordinance did not reflect what was actually on the ballot. He said he caught it while reviewing the agenda again that afternoon and moved to revise the second whereas clause to properly reflect Question 2F.

After Cortez read both the ordinance language and the corrected ballot wording into the record, Mayor Patrick McFall seconded the amendment. Council Member Caitlin Wyrick asked whether the changes were simply updating the date and restoring the ballot text; McFall replied, "Correct."

A city attorney told council the incorrect wording came from an earlier draft. The attorney said the office had worked through several versions of the ballot language and "the wrong version got pulled" into the ordinance, calling it an unfortunate oversight. The attorney added that the whereas clauses were background and informational and would not have changed the legal effect of the code sections being amended.

Dusty Durston, the city sales tax manager, said the ordinance was meant to align the municipal code with the November 2024 passage of Ballot Issue 2F. Durston said Section 8.10.140 would be updated so businesses and residents understand that retail marijuana sales are subject to both the city sales tax and the separate 5% excise tax, while Section 3.16.020 would direct readers to the correct code section.

During public comment, Megan Eliezer of Ward 2 said she was glad the city was finally bringing the industry inside city limits and said Loveland had been missing out on sales-tax and excise-tax revenue. Resident Darren Barrett thanked Cortez for catching the wording problem and warned council not to pass language that differed from what voters approved, saying that could create legal problems.

Council Member Geoff Frahm called the discrepancy a "great catch" and asked where the extra language had come from. Council Member Sarah Rothberg, who said she does not support marijuana sales policy generally, asked whether the city could track the revenue separately. A finance official told her the money could be broken out in quarterly or monthly reports because it is a new revenue source of interest. Rothberg then said that because voters approved it, "I will be in favor of it."

The ordinance, listed as Item 7.3 on the agenda, passed 8-0 as amended. Mayor Pro Tem Andrea Samson attended remotely, and Council Member Laura Light-Kovacs was absent.