Planning Board: Marijuana Zoning Should Be 'Joint' Effort
The Bourne Planning Board held the first of what will be a series of public hearings on the topic of marijuana and zoning last week.
While there is still much work to be done, many changes have already been made to the proposed marijuana zoning bylaw that was struck down at the May 1 Special Town Meeting. People in favor of repealing the ban and those in opposition to it voiced their belief that the new bylaw should be crafted through a “joint effort” from all sides at the board’s meeting on May 25.
Planning board chairman Daniel Doucette presided over what he later said was “a very productive meeting,” during which board members heard from both sides of the aisle on the issue.
The group behind the effort to rescind Bourne’s ban on marijuana sales has said it fully intends to bring the private petition article back before the town for a vote, but not before it has had a chance to collaborate with the town’s planning board and department on drafting a zoning bylaw that would be in the town’s best interest.
Under Massachusetts state law, a resident may call for a Special Town Meeting provided the request is signed by 200 registered voters or 20 percent of the total number of the town’s registered voters, whichever is lesser. Once the signatures are verified the request is handed off to the select board, which must schedule the Special Town Meeting for no later than 45 days after receiving the request.
Getting Ahead
Mr. Doucette explained that he wanted to have this item on the agenda for discussion to get ahead of the curve because while the repeal of the marijuana ban needs only a simple majority to pass at Town Meeting, the corresponding zoning bylaw needs two-thirds to be approved.
Getting the zoning passed is a much heavier lift, Mr. Doucette said: “That’s the reason we’re trying to discuss this in a timely manner, so we’re not stuck with a short time clock.”
If the marijuana ban never gets lifted, he continued, the zoning bylaw for marijuana would never come into effect. If, however, voters do vote to lift the ban but reject the proposed zoning bylaw for those establishments, marijuana dispensaries fall under retail zoning. Mr. Doucette said his goal in discussing this topic was to make sure that all stakeholders—from the town to business owners to abutters—have a say in creating the bylaw, making it easier to pass when Special Town Meeting does come around.
Board member James J. Robinson Jr. said he read through the state’s guidelines on marijuana for municipalities and called them “extremely extensive” and “right on target.” Mr. Doucette concurred, saying the town must at least meet the requirements set by both the state and the Cannabis Control Commission, with the option to exceed those standards and set town-specific rules.
Former planning board and school committee member Steven P. Strojny, one of the advocates for repealing the ban, took to the podium to address the planning board and discuss the proposed zoning bylaw that the advocates’ working group has drafted.
“Hopefully, we can come to terms on what we think are good zoning bylaws that protect the town’s interest as well as allow these establishments to be successful,” he said.
A New Concept
The proposed zoning bylaw put up for discussion this week is drastically different than what was initially presented at May's Special Town Meeting. Mr. Strojny said the group has listened to all the feedback it has received—from boards, residents, proponents and opponents—and changed the proposal accordingly.
“We’ve eliminated any kind of establishment that has to do with cultivation, manufacturing, processing,” Mr. Strojny said. “We’re just down to three dispensaries in three key areas: the downtown area, MacArthur Boulevard and some areas in Sagamore.”
Another decision made was to propose an overlay district, which Mr. Strojny said is much clearer, concise and aligned with state guidelines.
“What we think we’ve done this time is we think we’ve listened to what the town said,” Mr. Strojny told the board, “we’re protecting the interest of the town and ultimately when this goes through because I think most people will agree, the ban’s going to get repealed.”
Mr. Doucette agreed that an overlay district for marijuana zoning is simpler, and board members and Mr. Strojny both agreed that it would be beneficial for the town engineer and planning department to work together on creating new maps that clearly delineate where the proposed overlay district would go.
Comparing the map of what was proposed and what is now being proposed with the overlay district, Mr. Doucette said, would show voters how drastic of a reduction has been made so far.
“When you see the before and after, it’s really dramatic,” Mr. Strojny said, explaining that residential areas have been removed completely. Advocates for repealing the ban have narrowed their focus to, for example, areas like MacArthur Boulevard, which Mr. Strojny thinks could support at least two marijuana dispensaries.
Board member Jeanne Azarovitz noted that an overlay district will keep the board from getting bogged down by minute details, as has happened in past years.
Mr. Strojny repeated planning board member Christopher Farrell’s comments to the select board on the issue: “This is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the state, and it really is. And these buildings are safe and the state is saying just treat them like retail, otherwise you’re sort of reinforcing the misconception that these are somehow a threat to your community. They’re not, they’re an asset at the end of the day.”
”Let’s Do It The Bourne Way”
One of Mr. Strojny’s main points was his emphasis that Bourne is different from other towns in the area, and its marijuana zoning should be catered to its advantages, not copied from another municipality. Sandwich and Mashpee, both of which were discussed in regard to how marijuana is handled, are not Bourne, he said.
“Bourne is so uniquely situated to take advantage of this industry by virtue of the traffic that runs through us, the seasonality, how this is a jumping-off point for everywhere on the Cape and Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket,” he said. “This is what I’ll say: forget about how these other communities did it; they’re not Bourne. Let’s do it the Bourne way.”
Planning board clerk David O’Connor said he was pleased with the group’s approach of a joint effort and explained that his qualms with marijuana in Bourne are not philosophical; rather, it’s a matter of town planning. Mr. O’Connor did his own analysis, in which he said he looked at eight towns in the region of Cape Cod and southeastern Massachusetts to study how marijuana was handled in those communities.
Mr. O’Connor expressed concerns over the aesthetics of a dispensary and how a high-security marijuana facility would blend in with an area like downtown Buzzards Bay. Kevin Hough, a longtime Bourne resident and proponent of the cause, spoke to this concern and used his wife Lori Hough’s business, Capeway Cannabis in Carver, as an example. It is possible to design a facility that doesn’t “look like a prison,” he said, which was a general concern of board members.
Mr. O’Connor asked if Capeway Cannabis would look out of place if it was plopped down on Chatham’s Main Street, an area where the Cape-style aesthetic is strong. Mr. Hough, who also owns non-cannabis-related businesses in Bourne, said no, it would fit right in.
“If you drove by, you wouldn’t know it was a cannabis shop unless you saw the sign out front that said it,” he said. Board member Amanda Wing looked up the shop mid-meeting and complimented its charm.
“It looks like the front of Somerset Creamery in Cataumet,” she said. “It’s super cute and even the inside is really cute, it’s Cape Cod-themed.”
In what he called a negotiation point, Mr. O’Connor suggested that dispensaries be under the special permitting process overseen by the planning board, in order to determine what he called “appropriateness” for such establishments in the context of Bourne. Mr. Strojny countered by saying the special permitting process is already baked into the process.
“I just don’t want the visuals and the town planning principles overwhelmed by technical considerations,” Mr. O’Connor said.
Just The Beginning
Mr. Strojny fielded numerous questions from the board regarding his group’s proposed draft of the zoning bylaw but advised that these are not his alone and that he will take all of the concerns heard at the meeting back to the group for further exploration. When the group comes back next, he said, it will have some “solid thoughts” and address the aforementioned concerns.
Select board chairwoman Mary Jane Mastrangelo addressed the board, both in her capacity as the governing body’s chair and as a private resident. She reiterated the select board’s decision to have the town administrator and planner work with the planning board to further the discussion.
Using the town’s resources to produce clear and concise maps of the overlay district as proposed is a good idea, she said. Additionally, she emphasized the importance of collaboratively creating a bylaw that people on both sides of the issue feel comfortable enough with to pass at Special Town Meeting. That, she said, is the key to success.
“It’s just really important for the town to come together on this,” she said. “I mean, if we can’t come up with good zoning that the town can accept, it’s dangerous to have a repeal, it really is. I think this is an important issue for the town and I really look to you all for your leadership.”
Mr. Doucette agreed, saying the board must work “diligently, effectively on behalf of the town.” His goal in bringing the topic up to the board is to be ahead of the curve on crafting the zoning before a Town Meeting is called. The board will listen to all components, he said, but something needs to be put together sooner rather than later.
“That’s why I’m going to have it on the next agenda, and the next one,” he said. “Instead of delaying it and delaying it and getting forced with maybe something we don’t want, we work together to get something that we all like.”
Newly elected board member Catherine D. Walton agreed, saying the more information given to the public, the more they will buy in because they understand what is going on.
Ms. Azarovitz concurred, saying the town has “to get rid of the stigma that voting for a bylaw is giving people a green light” to come to Bourne with marijuana establishments and do whatever they want.
“We’re really doing this to protect the town’s interests at heart,” she said. “So many people won’t vote for it because they feel like it’s morally accepting this, and it’s not. They’re separate issues.”
Mr. Doucette said the board intends to continue discussing and moving forward with the issue in the coming weeks. Maps will be created and made available online and in person, he said. Questions and comments can be directed to town planner Jennifer Copeland. The discussion item on marijuana zoning will remain on the agenda for future planning board meetings.