WESTFIELD – The City Council began the process of adopting an ordinance that would establish a temporary moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries and growing facilities until a zoning ordinance, to control such uses, is put into place.
The council approved the first reading of the proposed moratorium ordinance Thursday and moved the motion to a second reading and final passage at its June 6, 2013 session. The council acted upon a 3-0 recommendation of the Legislative & Ordinance Committee which discussed the proposal submitted by the Planning Board.
The temporary moratorium will remain in place until May 1, 2014, or until a local zoning ordinance is adopted. The Planning Board will work with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to develop appropriate zoning regulations.
The City Council conducted a public hearing at its May 2, 2013 meeting at which several councilors expressed concern that the moratorium ordinance be initiated before the state began to license dispensaries and that a zoning ordinance to control the locations of where those facilities be allowed adopted. No residents spoke in support or opposition to the proposed moratorium.
Principal Planner Jay Vinskey, who discussed the Planning Board’s concerns with the L&O at its May 13, 2013 session, suggested that the wording of the ordinance ban be modified to be consistent with just released state regulations from the Public Safety Council.
“The Planning Board endorsed (a ban for) a year ‘or until such time as an ordinance is in place’,” Vinskey said. “The state has released regulations now. The name, in the new regulations, changed from medical marijuana treatment centers, which is the language in the law, to dispensaries.”
Vinskey suggested that the moratorium ordinance reflect that change.
The City Council amended the motion on the floor Thursday night to adopt Vinskey’s suggested wording change.
The city cannot ban those facilities outright, but it can identify certain zoning districts and establish other requirements, such as 1,000-foot buffers from churches, schools and other institutions.
The citizens of the Commonwealth approved a referendum last November to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes and the law went into effect in January, before the state Department of Health could provide regulations to control establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries, marijuana growing facilities and other aspects of the new law.
Boards of Health have also been awaiting the DPH regulations to determine what role they will play in the new medical marijuana processes.
The proposed moratorium reads:
Section 4-92 – Interim Restriction for Medical Marijuana Uses. While the City recognizes An Act for the Humanitarian Medical Use of Marijuana (Chapter 369 of the Acts of 2012, enacted by the People of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts), but since the Massachusetts Department of Public Health has yet to promulgate the regulations for Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (Dispensaries), as defined and registered pursuant to the laws and regulations of the state, and where such regulations must be known and duly considered in order to effectively evaluate any impact of such novel use in regard to public health, safety and welfare, this interim restriction is hereby established. This section is not intended, nor shall it be construed, to restrict marijuana from qualifying patients (or their personal caregivers), where properly licensed and registered pursuant to all applicable state laws and regulations, for their own personal use.
