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Date: 4/19/2021
EASTHAMPTON – During an April 13 meeting, the Easthampton Planning Board and City Council’s Ordinance Committee hosted a lengthy discussion about the possibility of allowing cannabis delivery in the city.
Easthampton City Councilor Owen Zaret gave a presentation on the subject, highlighting the rules and regulations of either being a marijuana delivery operator or a marijuana courier, based on guidelines provided by the state’s Cannabis Control Commission (CCC).
Marijuana delivery operators, under CCC law, are allowed to purchase and store wholesale marijuana or marijuana products in a warehouse-type location. Delivery operators will purchase from a third party source, store the product in a warehouse, and deliver the product straight to a person’s house. The person receiving product will order from somewhere online, according to Zaret.
The other category is a marijuana courier. Basically, an order is placed via a third party ordering system, and the courier delivers the product straight from retail locations. They do not carry inventory or have their own warehouse, according to Zaret. “Retailers may have ownership in these types of businesses,” said Zaret, who added that a shop can own their own courier business, but it has to be separate from their actual retail location.
“The important thing about both of these license types is they are an opportunity for the state to have some form of equity provisions,” said Zaret.
For both delivery licenses, the first 36 months will be limited to businesses controlled or majority-owned by Economic Empowerment Priority applicants or Social Equity Program participants. This is a state regulation that applies to the first 50 people that acquire either license type in Easthampton. The licensee under this umbrella can choose to extend their period of exclusivity for any number of reasons, according to Zaret. Other groups can be included in this exclusivity period, especially minority and women business enterprise groups.
“This is one of the first licenses that offers an exclusivity period,” said Zaret, who added that the state wants to assist people who have disproportionately been affected by the “war on drugs.”
After having discussions at the Ordinance Committee level, Zaret and the committee agreed that there would be three special permits for the marijuana delivery operator to start. The committee also recommended precertification for both positions. Couriers and operators will get a dated notice when they are considered for an application for a special permit. Highway Business Industrial and Mill Industrial zoning would be best for license applications.
To preserve a green community, Zaret also proposed that any fleet with six or more vehicles must include hybrid electric diesel or electric vehicles somewhere within their fleet.
For single operators, there is a state regulation that does not allow marijuana operators as a home profession. However, if a courier receives an order from their laptop, and the ordinance allows for deliverers to store vehicles in their driveway, then the courier can make that delivery. There must be at least two people in a vehicle when a courier is making a delivery. For a fleet, however, it was recommended to require a special permit, a site plan, as well as requiring the fleet to operate in a more industrial business zone.
“As we introduce these new license types, we need to make sure that our definitions align with these new licenses,” said Zaret. “We overlooked some areas where we need to make sure that we include the terminology and these names in the definitions.”
Jeffrey Bagg, the Easthampton city planner, said that the Planning Board will need another meeting to discuss revised language within the city’s documents, and possibly vote on that aspect of cannabis delivery.
“Couriers will have some type of home base to dispatch,” said Bagg, who added that the city must determine parking and other logistics with regard to how couriers would be able to operate. According to Bagg, car inspections would occur somewhere along the state level. “There’s not going to be consistency with the type of vehicle,” said Bagg.
Easthampton currently houses Insa Easthampton on Pleasant Street, Easthampton Dispensary on Cottage Street, and Liberty Dispensary on Northampton Street. With Insa closing around 11 p.m. each night, the Planning Board decided that it was best to make the hours of operation for delivery from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. The original proposal was ending the day at 9 p.m. If the language passes, transactions may occur until 11 p.m., and fulfillment of orders can happen for a short time after that, thus creating a buffer for delivery drivers.
According to Kevin Perrier, the president and CEO of the Easthampton-based construction company Five Star Building Corp., couriers and operators will most likely be delivering outside of Easthampton too. When that is the case, the operators and couriers have to follow the regulations for cannabis delivery within that specific city.
“It’s going to be our job as an operator to track every town’s hours,” said Perrier, who also added that he would ideally like to see deliveries happen until midnight.
The Planning Board and Ordinance Committee decided they will talk about other policies and updated amendments during a May 11 joint meeting. A theoretical public hearing would follow shortly after.
Both the Ordinance Committee and Planning Board were also scheduled to discuss the new expansion of solar energy facilities within Easthampton, but withdrew the discussion due to the complicated nature of the process.
Zaret indicated he plans to put together a more overarching amendment with the Planning Board and Energy Commission, and have something that is not as restrictive. He said that they plan to work on this throughout the summer, and will present the amendments to the Planning Board in the fall.