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Date: 5/11/2021
BLANDFORD – At the conclusion of a virtual public hearing on May 5, the Planning Board issued a special permit with conditions to Belle Fleur Holdings, LLC to construct and operate a two-story 78,436 square-foot marijuana cultivation and product manufacturing facility at 138 Otis Stage Road. Belle Fleur had previously submitted a site plan of over 400 pages, which Planning Board Chair Michael Hutchins called “very thorough,” and included delineation of wetlands on the property. The site plan was approved by the Conservation Commission. Hutchins said the facility, which is zoned agricultural use, is not near any residential property. With 23 employees operating in two shifts, Hutchins said the board is “pretty certain” there would be no traffic impacts, and the Police Department has also approved the plan. Dominic Carderelli, chief financial officer, and Attorney Blake Mensing of Belle Fleur Holdings were present to answer questions during the hearing. One concern voiced by Michael Petrin was of the site distance on the road. He said the road is on a curve with 295 feet of site distance in one direction. “I don’t know what the speed limit is, but it’s not a lot of distance,” he said. Petrin noted that the road is a state highway under the jurisdiction of MassDOT, and he recommended the board request a waiver for that reason. His only other recommendation was a condition to limit the number of employees per shift to match the parking. Carderelli said the company fully intends on having a traffic study done. Hutchins said he is not in favor of a waiver but would consider an approval with conditions. He said his concern is the limited sight distance, and cars going faster than the speed limit around the cursive. “My concern is for the town, if we waive this and DOT doesn’t do their due diligence; if we have a t-bone there, somebody’s going to get hurt, and we’ll be sued. “For liability purposes, I would consider an approval with conditions. Follow through with the traffic study, and whatever comes back, do over and above.” Mensing said they could have a special condition that what MassDOT says goes, and if there is a massive change, there is no way to avoid coming back before the board. “They have thus far not expressed any alarm to what is proposed,” he said adding that the project is subject to MassDOT’s definitive response. “We don’t want anything to happen with employees or cars. We’ll make sure it’s compliant above and beyond what MassDOT asks,” Carderelli said. Speaking to security, Carderelli said the perimeter of the property will be fenced off, as will the clearing around the building and parking area. There will be a guard house 20 feet in from the road to check people in, and another gate after that with a security person at the gate, and two more patrolling outside the building, all armed. There will be 30 cameras outside the building, and cameras inside. Mensing noted the outer perimeter fence is not required by the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC). Chester-Blandford Police Chief Tammy Weidhaas said she had met with Belle Fleur and didn’t have any questions or concerns. She added that she did not know there would be armed guards outside the building inside the second fence. “I’m pleased with that,” she said. “If you’re not supposed to be there, you won’t be there. If you are a trimmer in the facility, you won’t have access to other parts of the building,” Carderelli said, adding that key card access is required throughout the building. “Even within the building, if you’re not supposed to be in that area, you won’t be in that area.” In response to another question, Carderelli said they will have ample lighting coming up the driveway, and additional lighting all around the building. He said it would be downward facing, with no light pollution. He said all the lighting in the facility will be LED. He said the building is 400 feet from the road going uphill 85 feet to the parking lot, but the top of the building will be barely visible from the street. During the public comment portion of the hearing, a question was asked whether Belle Fleur would be hiring within the community. Carderelli said Blandford residents are welcome to apply and would have first priority; next would be minority applicants and then those from economically disadvantaged areas. He said they would also be doing outreach to local colleges and agricultural departments. “We’re bringing in a lot of experience and knowledge. This building will be state of the art,” Carderelli said, adding that any employee would need to be a registered agent of the CCC. “We’ve all been fully vetted, and fingerprint checked,” he said. An abutter who lives directly across the street asked if there would be any odor at all from the facility. “That’s a rather large facility if you’re only back 400 feet from the road,” she said. Carderelli said it will be a completely indoor facility, and all of the grow rooms will be airtight and climate controlled. “If we’re having odor get out, that means an air leak that can’t happen,” he said, adding that the air will be filtered through carbon filters and recycled. “It will be a literal room within a room, filtered in the room with the plants and the interstitial space between the room within the room,” said Mensing. Carderelli said the only industry more regulated than cannabis is uranium and nuclear power. “We’re held to extremely high standards, and odor is definitely one of them,” he said. Another abutter said he was “all for expanding Blandford’s fiscal footing and bringing in new business,” and asked what the next steps are in the process. Hutchins said once the hearing is closed and the special permit approved, it would be up to Belle Fleur to get their permits. Carderelli said the normal process for building permits is 60 to 90 days. He said once they are able to “put a shovel in the ground,” construction will take 10 months to build. “We expect to have the exterior shell up before winter, and then build the interior. This time next year, we’ll be getting ready to put plants in the room, and we’ll open three to four months after that. That’s with everything going right. The contractor thinks 10 months is feasible,” he said. When asked about future expansion, he said the CCC limits space per license. “We’re focusing on cultivation. This is a very expensive building. Our main priority for the next five to 10 years is going to be this building,” he said. Hutchins added that it’s doubtful they would be able to expand on the current property due to surrounding wetlands, and a separate property would require a whole new host community agreement. In response to a question of how much revenue to Blandford is expected, Carderelli said expected revenue for the business is $40 million and the town is entitled to three percent, or $1.3 million. He said this income is based on 11,000 pounds per year at the current market price of $4,000 wholesale. He said based on anticipated saturation of the market, that price should come down to $2,000 wholesale. He said a conservative figure for town revenue would be $900,000 per year. Carderelli also said the first year, they would be at a fourth of production capacity, but would be at full capacity by the end of 2023. After further discussion, the public hearing was closed, and the special permit granted with conditions, including that construction must commence within two years, all permits must be obtained before construction, and the Planning Board notified within 48 hours before construction begins. Hours of construction are limited to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, 8 a.m.to 3 p.m. on Saturday, and prohibited on Sundays and holidays unless prior approval is obtained by the town administrator. Also, all work must be completed within 12 months of receiving building permits, unless the Planning Board grants an extension and there will be a maximum of 23 full-time equivalent employees at the facility at any given time. The special permit decision, findings and full list of conditions are available on the town website at townofblandford.us.