Apple Guy Flowers LLC is a new cannabis cultivation business at Thayer Family Farm, 92 South Shaker Road. Sole proprietor Lucas Thayer and attorney Blake Mensing met virtually with the Select Board June 30 to discuss the business’s plans. Thayer also met with the Planning Board July 6 to submit an approval-not-required plan that protects the property’s currently allowed uses from zoning changes. The meetings advanced the months-long permitting process that is required for cannabis growers in the commonwealth.
When asked for an expected timeline for regulatory approvals, Mensing responded that he estimated a full approval to occur nine to 18 months after the Select Board issues a host community agreement, which would be the first step of the approval process. According to Mensing, the state Cannabis Control Commission accepts applications for a provisional license as soon as a business obtains a host community agreement, and a provisional approval generally takes two to eight months. The commision also requires the business to have held a community outreach meeting within the prior six months, so Apple Guy Flowers would hold such a meeting before applying for a provisional license. During that waiting time, Thayer’s business would seek approval from local entities such as the Planning Board, Board of Health, and police chief. The business would need all these approvals to apply for a full license.
Select Board members asked what steps Thayer planned to take to control the odors produced by cannabis plants. The cultivation business would use two systems to attempt to combat odor. The first would be companion plants, such as hyacinth and mint, plants with fragrant flowers that also provide visual screening of the cannabis crop. The other system would be an odor aerosol, which Mensing described as an “industrial scale organic Febreze.”
Select Board member Stu Sklar asked Thayer where on the property the cannabis would be grown and whether it would be within the plot surrounded by black fencing currently visible on the property. According to Thayer, his planned cultivation site is east of the currently fenced area, farther from the road and partially behind the house, because his measurements show that the current fenced area is inside a wetlands protection zone.
Thayer said he intends to grow the cannabis plants in Hugelkultur, a gardening method that uses natural and organic materials (burnt logs, manure, compost, wood trimmings) to construct fertile, raised soil beds.
Thayer submitted an approval-not-required plan creating a public record of the current state of Thayer Family Farm. According to Director of Community and Economic Development Chris Ryan, the submission of such a plan freezes the current zoning of the parcel in question, preventing new zoning changes from affecting the uses allowed on it. The current zoning bylaw allows cannabis cultivation in the AR district (agricultural/residential: the vast majority of the town’s area) and requires the plants to be set back 200 feet from the property line.
“Approval-not-required” refers to the fact that the Planning Board is not given the option to approve or deny a plan of this type but is instead simply asked to endorse receipt of the plan (a process which occurs automatically within 21 days if the board takes no action). According to Ryan, such plans are often used when dividing a single lot into multiple smaller lots, so the use of this process when no change is being made to the lot is unusual.
The plan Thayer submitted included a line showing where the border of Harvard’s Shaker Village Historic District passes through the property. Neighbors attending the Zoom call argued that the plan showed the district boundary on the wrong side of a tree at the front of the property. After consulting with his attorney, Thayer agreed to submit a new plan without indicating the boundary, as it is not near the proposed growing area. The Planning Board voted to endorse the plan on the condition that the district boundary be removed, with only board member Gwen Leonard voting against the motion.
