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Date: 5/11/2018
WEST SPRINGFIELD – Recreational marijuana has been legal in the state of Massachusetts since 2016. Now, Mayor William Reichelt is encouraging the Town of West Springfield to follow suit.
On May 2, the mayor wrote a letter to Town Council President George D. Condon III outlining the financial benefits of legalizing adult-use marijuana – despite the fact the community voted against it in the November 2016 state ballot measure. If it were to legalize, the municipality would stand to collect a 3 percent local sales tax from commercial pot facilities within West Side, and profit from any additional revenue generated from host community agreements, he argued.
Reichelt, who is petitioning the Town Council to amend the Zoning Ordinance law to allow the adult-use of marijuana, added that he believes the town will suffer if it fails to move forward.
“We will experience whatever perceived social issues exist,” he wrote. “Without the benefit of an apportionment of the sales tax and without additional revenue generated from negotiated host community agreements.”
West Springfield currently has a town moratorium – a temporary prohibition of an activity – on recreational facilities through December.
The mayor provided proposed zoning amendments in his letter, which include limiting the number of retail operations, segregating the use to industrial zones, placing buffers around residential uses as well as parks, playgrounds and schools. It also calls for the strict regulation of signage, odor, visual impacts, hours of operation, and prohibits on-site consumption. The proposal was created using similar ordinances from surrounding communities, and treats marijuana as a legal product to be sold and regulated like alcohol or tobacco.
Some of the highlights are as follows:
• A Cannabis Establishment is permitted by Special Permit with Site Plan Review in the Industrial (I) and Industrial Park (IP) zoning districts, subject to compliance with all other applicable regulations in Section 8.9 and subject to compliance with the standard Special Permit and Site Plan Review requirements outlined in Sections 12 and 13.
• No Cannabis Establishment, except Cannabis Retailers, shall be located on a parcel which is within 250 feet of a parcel occupied by a residential use; a public or private elementary, junior high, middle, vocational or high school; a daycare center or early education facility; a park, playground or structure for religious worship; or any facility intended principally as a place for on-site services for children or wherein children commonly congregate in a formal, structured or scheduled manner.
• No Cannabis Retailer shall be located on a parcel which is within 500 feet of a parcel occupied by a residential use; a public or private elementary, junior high, middle, vocational or high school; a daycare center or early education facility; a park, playground or structure for religious worship; any facility intended principally as a place for on-site services for children or wherein children commonly congregate in a formal, structured or scheduled manner; or another Cannabis Retailer
• No Cannabis Establishment shall be located within a building containing residential units. This prohibition includes transient housing and group housing.
• No more than two Cannabis Retailers shall be allowed within the Town of West Springfield.
• No cannabis shall be smoked, eaten or otherwise consumed or ingested on the premises.
• No Cannabis Establishment shall allow the escape of noxious odors or gases.
• All signage shall comply with the requirements of 935 CMR 500, and Section 9.2 of this zoning ordinance.
• Cannabis plants, products, and paraphernalia shall not be visible from outside the building in which the cannabis establishment is located and shall comply with the requirements of 935 CMR 500. No outside storage is permitted.
Although adult-use marijuana was legalized in the Bay State in 2016, the Legislature delayed the start of recreational sales from January 2018 to July 2018. The Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) has been working on regulations and setting up its enforcement operations since September 2017.
Once sales begin in July, adults 21 and older can purchase recreational marijuana from any retail pot shops or current medical dispensaries that received their recreational licenses. State law says individuals can possess up to 1 ounce on your person in public – although it cannot be consumed in public. Users are not allowed to keep more than 10 ounces of cannabis at home. The CCC recently decided to allow retail pot shops to sell seeds and clones to consumers. Individuals may grow up to six plants at home – 12 if more than one adult lives there.
“I understand the perception of marijuana being a bad thing, but that is over – it’s here and it’s coming. Instead of just burying our heads in the sand and banning it, we can thoughtfully regulate it and make sure we have the right tools in place to benefit from it,” Reichelt told Reminder Publications. “I do think there is going to be some controversy, but I hope it can be an educational debate about the pros and cons of this.”
The amendments were formally referred to the full council by its Ordinance & Policy Subcommittee and the Planning Board.