IRON MOUNTAIN — The ordinance governing commercial marijuana sales in Iron Mountain will get a second look after a contentious, disordered debate during Monday’s city council meeting conducted via Zoom.

A light agenda for the council took a different turn after council member Nathan Zemar proposed discussing the city’s marijuana ordinances. He suggested the current limit of two dispensaries be abandoned in favor of expanded licensing, perhaps with no cap at all.

With the two retail permits now held by downstate interests, Zemar said he likes the idea of having unlimited provisioning centers in the city. An 80-minute free-for-all ensued.

Zemar and allied council members Pam Maule and Ken Clawson finally consented to a committee review but asked that a draft proposal be ready for the council’s Oct. 19 session.

Earlier in the discussion, the trio rejected a motion to refer the issue to committee. Maule later explained she was afraid it would die there.

“I’m in favor of the local people getting a bite of the apple,” Clawson said.

Zemar will have a seat on the committee, along with Mayor Dale Alessandrini and council member Bill Revord. Expanded licensing will get a closer look, although city attorney Gerry Pirkola warned it would invite litigation.

The dispensary licenses are held by Rize Cannabis, which has promised a $5 million investment for its retail outlet and growing facility, while Lume Cannabis plans a $2.18 million project that includes renovating a pair of dilapidated downtown buildings.

The pandemic has slowed progress on those facilities. The council last month extended the deadline to begin operations from Oct. 1, 2020, to April 1, 2021.

Meanwhile, Superior Selections, with local owners, has opened a licensed growing facility on East Smith Street after falling short in the dispensary competition.

Zemar said he believes additional marijuana businesses would be good for the city. Doing away with the licensing caps would allow free enterprise to determine who stays and who goes, he said.

“What are we worried about?” he asked.

Council member Kyle Blomquist said any remaining commitments from Rize and Lume would fall by the wayside. “You have to imagine that all of that investment is going to evaporate,” he said.

There could be many repercussions, Pirkola advised, but he was willing to take direction from the council. The committee, he said, might draft “something that can be debated intelligently.”

Revord confessed exhaustion with Monday’s debate, calling the panel “the council that couldn’t shoot straight.”

Alessandrini, at the conclusion, promised the committee will take up the issue with due diligence.

Council member Butch Schinderle was unable to attend Monday’s session.