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Ward 6 City Councilor Michelle DuBois said she has heard from numerous individuals and companies expressing interest in opening medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.
She is working closely with her colleague from Ward 3, Dennis Eaniri, to write a zoning ordinance limiting where pot shops can locate, but the two have conflicting timelines going forward.
Like many other municipalities, the city passed a moratorium through June 30, 2014, on the permitting of marijuana manufacturing facilities and the dispensaries where patients will purchase the drug.
DuBois said she wants to use that full window to develop the zoning rules, but Eaniri would like to see the City Council pass an ordinance before the state begins issuing licenses in January.
The state recently released a list of applicants by county for the 35 dispensary licenses that the Department of Health will issue in the state. In Plymouth County there are 19 applications from 15 applicants. There can be no more than five dispensaries per county. Some, like herbalist John Greene, are pursuing multiple applications to increase their odds of landing a license.
Many have begun laying the groundwork to open dispensaries in Brockton, according to Dubois.
"The sheer number of people who have reached out to me about placing a medical marijuana facility in Brockton makes me adamant that the zoning be correct the first time because we won't have a second change at this," she said. "The second we pass this zoning ordinance, we're going to start getting permit applications."
But Eaniri said he doesn't think the city should wait until next summer to pass zoning rules.
"I don't want to be known as the city that dragged our feet on this issue," Eaniri said.
He doesn't want to see the city lose control of where dispensaries locate or have the most qualified applicants get impatient and choose to look elsewhere, Eaniri explained.
DuBois argues that the city needs to move forward with caution. She said she doesn't want to pass a zoning ordinance until Brockton has hired a city planner.
"When you're going to change zoning in a significant way with long-lasting impacts for residents it would be negligent not to wait and have a professional city planner review the change," Dubois said.
The city will have the opportunity to appoint a city planner in October, but if an appointment isn't made then, state law prohibits the mayor from making appointments within three months of an election. The city will then have to wait until January to bring on a planner.
Councilor-at-large Tom Brophy said he believes the city has the resources to craft the zoning change without a city planner. He said the City Council has the guidance of the city's redevelopment authority as well as its legal counsel.
If the city waits for a planner, the ordinance will need to be re-filed at the start of the next council year in January.
Eaniri said waiting that long could result in the city losing its say in where the dispensaries locate.
DuBois said she doesn't think that will happen, pointing to a decision from the attorney general in March allowing communities to amend their zoning bylaws to regulate dispensaries and enact temporary moratoriums on their development.
But the attorney general does not review city ordinances, only those passed by towns.
If those looking to open a dispensary in Brockton received a license from the state before the city passes its zoning change, they could bring a lawsuit challenging the moratorium in court.
Assistant City Solicitor Karen Fisher said the city should not be concerned about a legal challenge. Though the attorney general isn't required to review city ordinances, Fisher said the same case law from that decision would still apply.
DuBois, who drafted a medical marijuana zoning ordinance in March, said she plans to present a revised proposal at the Ordinance Committee meeting on Sept. 9.
The primary change, DuBois said, will be to create overlay zones — specific geographical areas — where marijuana can be manufactured and sold, with different overlays for each.
Her original plan would have restricted the manufacturing facilities to heavy industrial zones and the dispensaries to commercial zones. DuBois said that proposal got push-back from residents worried it didn't go far enough to control where the facilities will locate.
An area being discussed for an overlay is a commercial and industrial zone in Ward 3 on the city's West Side near the Veterans Hospital, in the area of Pearl, Manley, Liberty and West Chestnut streets.
Eaniri, who sits on the Ordinance Committee, said that part of his ward is being considered for its proximity to a hospital and the highway system.
DuBois said she will meet this week with Eaniri and an engineer from the city to firm up the overlays and strengthen the ordinance language, so it can be presented at the Sept. 9 meeting.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: enterprisenews.com
Author: Morgan True
Contact: The Enterprise Contact Us
Website: Brockton continues to grapple with zoning for medical marijuana - Brockton, MA - The Enterprise
She is working closely with her colleague from Ward 3, Dennis Eaniri, to write a zoning ordinance limiting where pot shops can locate, but the two have conflicting timelines going forward.
Like many other municipalities, the city passed a moratorium through June 30, 2014, on the permitting of marijuana manufacturing facilities and the dispensaries where patients will purchase the drug.
DuBois said she wants to use that full window to develop the zoning rules, but Eaniri would like to see the City Council pass an ordinance before the state begins issuing licenses in January.
The state recently released a list of applicants by county for the 35 dispensary licenses that the Department of Health will issue in the state. In Plymouth County there are 19 applications from 15 applicants. There can be no more than five dispensaries per county. Some, like herbalist John Greene, are pursuing multiple applications to increase their odds of landing a license.
Many have begun laying the groundwork to open dispensaries in Brockton, according to Dubois.
"The sheer number of people who have reached out to me about placing a medical marijuana facility in Brockton makes me adamant that the zoning be correct the first time because we won't have a second change at this," she said. "The second we pass this zoning ordinance, we're going to start getting permit applications."
But Eaniri said he doesn't think the city should wait until next summer to pass zoning rules.
"I don't want to be known as the city that dragged our feet on this issue," Eaniri said.
He doesn't want to see the city lose control of where dispensaries locate or have the most qualified applicants get impatient and choose to look elsewhere, Eaniri explained.
DuBois argues that the city needs to move forward with caution. She said she doesn't want to pass a zoning ordinance until Brockton has hired a city planner.
"When you're going to change zoning in a significant way with long-lasting impacts for residents it would be negligent not to wait and have a professional city planner review the change," Dubois said.
The city will have the opportunity to appoint a city planner in October, but if an appointment isn't made then, state law prohibits the mayor from making appointments within three months of an election. The city will then have to wait until January to bring on a planner.
Councilor-at-large Tom Brophy said he believes the city has the resources to craft the zoning change without a city planner. He said the City Council has the guidance of the city's redevelopment authority as well as its legal counsel.
If the city waits for a planner, the ordinance will need to be re-filed at the start of the next council year in January.
Eaniri said waiting that long could result in the city losing its say in where the dispensaries locate.
DuBois said she doesn't think that will happen, pointing to a decision from the attorney general in March allowing communities to amend their zoning bylaws to regulate dispensaries and enact temporary moratoriums on their development.
But the attorney general does not review city ordinances, only those passed by towns.
If those looking to open a dispensary in Brockton received a license from the state before the city passes its zoning change, they could bring a lawsuit challenging the moratorium in court.
Assistant City Solicitor Karen Fisher said the city should not be concerned about a legal challenge. Though the attorney general isn't required to review city ordinances, Fisher said the same case law from that decision would still apply.
DuBois, who drafted a medical marijuana zoning ordinance in March, said she plans to present a revised proposal at the Ordinance Committee meeting on Sept. 9.
The primary change, DuBois said, will be to create overlay zones — specific geographical areas — where marijuana can be manufactured and sold, with different overlays for each.
Her original plan would have restricted the manufacturing facilities to heavy industrial zones and the dispensaries to commercial zones. DuBois said that proposal got push-back from residents worried it didn't go far enough to control where the facilities will locate.
An area being discussed for an overlay is a commercial and industrial zone in Ward 3 on the city's West Side near the Veterans Hospital, in the area of Pearl, Manley, Liberty and West Chestnut streets.
Eaniri, who sits on the Ordinance Committee, said that part of his ward is being considered for its proximity to a hospital and the highway system.
DuBois said she will meet this week with Eaniri and an engineer from the city to firm up the overlays and strengthen the ordinance language, so it can be presented at the Sept. 9 meeting.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: enterprisenews.com
Author: Morgan True
Contact: The Enterprise Contact Us
Website: Brockton continues to grapple with zoning for medical marijuana - Brockton, MA - The Enterprise
