SCHENECTADY, ​​New York (WRGB)— The city of Schenectady is looking to stop new dispensaries from opening.

City Council is proposing a 90-day moratorium that will halt new construction permit applications for dispensaries until February 11, 2025.

The moratorium will give city officials time to evaluate the impact of cannabis dispensaries on neighborhoods. The goal is to come up with new zoning regulations to restrict where they can and can’t go.

“We are receiving many requests for cannabis (dispensaries) in various locations around the city and we are also receiving concerns from residents about where they will be located,” said Marion Porterfield, president of the Schenectady City Council.

Porterfield said council wants to ensure new dispensaries are located in areas that meet community expectations.

“We need to stop and do that zoning to make sure we are considering the schools that are around us and the facilities and places of worship. The moratorium is to take the time to look at that, to make sure we don’t get inundated with the number of cannabis stores,” Porterfield said.

Schenectady is currently home to at least three dispensaries, with more expected to open in the near future.

Porterfield said these new zoning regulations are necessary to ensure that not all of these stores open in the same area.

“Especially since the state only says there are 1,000 feet on a street. It’s not the radius, so you can have cannabis locations within a thousand feet of each other as long as they’re not on the same street,” Porterfield said.

The moratorium would affect applications submitted after November 13. The existing application will not be affected.

The City Council is likely to vote on the moratorium at its next council meeting, Monday, Nov. 12.