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Date: 2/23/2023
RUSSELL — Neighbors still have questions about a proposed cannabis grower in Russell after a public hearing before the Planning Board on Feb. 14.
Jessica and Gene Finkle are proposing to host an indoor cannabis growing site at 35 Homestead Ave., Russell, to be operated by 7Leaf Gardens. The couple lives on a 100-acre parcel, and the growing facility would be more than 500 feet away from the nearest home. Access would be from Timberidge Drive.
“You won’t see us, you won’t hear us, you won’t smell us, nothing,” said Jessica Finkle. “We’re smack in the middle of the property.”
Cannabis growing is heavily regulated by the state, and 7Leaf has a license to open a growing operation in Massachusetts. It also has a signed host agreement with the Russell Board of Selectmen. Under the terms of the agreement, the company will pay 3 percent of its annual gross profits to the town, in addition to the normal property taxes that any business pays.
The 5,000-square-foot building would include two grow rooms, with a total of up to 2,300 square feet of plantings, in one tier. In addition to the grow rooms, the building would also include an office, bathrooms and planting and processing rooms.
There is space designated for extracting oils from harvested plants, though 7Leaf is not proposing to start that activity, which would be considered manufacturing, immediately. Plants harvested at 7Leaf would be trucked elsewhere to be turned into manufactured products, such as oils and gummies, or sold to retailers. There would be no retail sales on the Russell site.
The Planning Board continued the public hearing until its April 11 meeting to give members a chance to study the project, and to give the proponents time to answer neighbors’ questions. The meeting will be at 6 p.m. in Russell Town Hall.
Several of the questions at the Feb. 14 meeting had to do with how much water the growing operation would draw, and whether neighbors’ wells would be affected.
Nicholas Adamopoulos, a lawyer representing the Finkles, said each grow room would require drawing 50 to 55 gallons of water per day. The total water usage, including the bathroom for the workers, would be less than that of a house with four residents, he said.
Daniel Manley, a Homestead Avenue resident, said 7Leaf’s water use projections don’t match the consumption figures he’s found in his own research. He said indoor cannabis growers in Michigan averaged 198 gallons per square foot of canopy per year, which would work out to more than 1,200 gallons per day for a 2,300-square-foot growing operation.
Adamopoulos said state regulations may affect water use in other states. He said the 7Leaf estimates are based on actual average water use at similar indoor growers following Massachusetts laws. He said the 7Leaf plan includes substantial recycling of water, reducing dependence on the well. He said the plan also calls for collecting and storing rainwater in barrels, which could be used if the well breaks or during a drought.
Several neighbors echoed Manley’s concerns about water use. Residents of Homestead Avenue and Timberidge Drive said they worried that a large water user drilling a new well near them could affect their own private wells, particularly in a drought year.
Selectman Gloria Farrell, a Timberidge resident and abutter of the Finkles’ property, asked that they pay for a hydrological study of the neighborhood to confirm that there is enough groundwater to support the cannabis grower without affecting existing wells.
Neighbors also asked for a study on how much traffic the new business would attract, particularly on Timberidge Drive, described as a winding country lane where several schoolchildren live.
Adamopoulos said deliveries and shipments would be “maybe one or two” vans per week. He said the vans would be similar in size to an Amazon delivery vehicle or a Mercedes Sprinter van.
“You’re not talking 18-wheelers,” he said.
There would be up to five workers traveling to the site every day. Adamopoulos said making sure they follow traffic laws would be a matter for local police. Finkle said she’d make sure they respected the residential neighborhood.
“I have kids, little kids who go to the school, as well,” Finkle said. “If I see someone speeding, I’m going to say something. I live here, too.”
In addition to site plan review by the Planning Board, the project will also need a special permit from the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals, which will include another public hearing. Planning Board Chair Dale Kratochvil said many of the neighbors’ concerns would be better addressed to the zoning board, which has the power to place conditions on its special permit, such as requiring tree plantings to screen any buildings from view.