The Planning Board met with members of the Board of Selectmen and Town Counsel Mark Lanza April 23 to discuss the town’s proposed marijuana bylaws. The selectmen requested a change to the proposed marijuana bylaw amendment affecting the commercial district, while Lanza provided new information about the legal consequences of various actions.
Selectwoman Kara Minar expressed concern about the 6,000-square-foot limit on the establishment of a marijuana facility in the commercial district, stating that a retailer of such large size would be inappropriate for the town. As the large size limit had been intended to allow a single establishment to co-locate multiple marijuana-related activities (such as research and retail sale), the Planning Board voted to add an additional clause to the bylaw stipulating that no more than 3,000 of the 6,000 square feet could be used for retail purposes.
While crafting the bylaw changes to regulate marijuana, Planning Board members had operated under two key assumptions that Lanza refuted at the April 23 meeting. The first was that a failure to regulate marijuana farming or retail establishments would result in a free-for-all in which businesses could move into the town unchecked. Instead, Lanza explained, marijuana cultivation would definitely be prohibited, while retail sales would likely be prohibited, though a determined prospective retailer might litigate successfully to be allowed in. The second was that, when crafting host community agreements with marijuana establishments, the Board of Selectmen would have full power to require or prohibit actions beyond those specified in the regulatory bylaws. Instead, Lanza explained, refusing to grant a host community agreement until specific requirements are met would leave the town open to litigation.
Planning Board members voted to approve finalized versions of all bylaws to be voted on at the May 5 Annual Town Meeting, including the marijuana bylaws, and do not plan to meet again until afterward. Some expressed concern that since the marijuana bylaws will not be discussed until after the contentious elementary school building project, many residents might leave the meeting beforehand, resulting in the voting on the marijuana bylaws being dominated by interest groups.
