WESTFIELD – The City Council conducted a public hearing on the proposed medical marijuana ordinance Thursday night starting the 90-day clock to adopt local regulation before the May 1 expiration of the moratorium now in place.
A number of councilors raised concerns about the proposed ordinance which would restrict allowable locations of marijuana dispensaries and growing facilities, while others expressed the displeasure with the state.
Principal Planner Jay Vinskey presented details to the City Council of the ordinance proposed by the Planning Board earlier this year. The Planning Board voted in January to submit two proposed medical marijuana ordinances to the City Council for its review and action as the June 1, 2014 moratorium deadline approaches.
The zoning ordinance, which will replace the existing ordinance, Section 4-90 which now prohibits the sale of drug paraphernalia. The revised ordinance has definitions, regulated zoning for dispensaries and marijuana processing facilities, as well as other requirements and provisions.
The proposed zoning would limit dispensaries and processing facilities to the Industrial A Zone through site approval process and in the Business B district by special permit if the applicant can provide adequate and appropriate security measures and if the facility is designed to minimize “any adverse or inconsistent visual or olfactory impacts on the immediate neighborhood.”
The Planning Board can approve the special permit for Business B districts only if the “project is compatible with, and will not have an adverse economic effect, on surrounding uses.”
Jim Liptak raised the issue of spot zoning of property located in rural or residential areas, property which could meet the zoning district requirement, but which is surrounded by another district.
The proposed ordinance reads:
“The secured limits of a proposed Marijuana Dispensary or Marijuana Processing Operation shall not be located within 500 feet of a facility used, at the time of the first notice of public hearing, for an elementary, middle or high school, or for a playground, pre-school, child day care center or other location intended principally as a place for on-site services for children, or wherein children commonly congregate in a formal, structured or scheduled manner; nor, unless an additional Special Permit so specifically authorizes, within 300 feet of any residential dwelling unit, transient-type housing structure or structure used for religious worship .”
The proposed ordinance was sent back to the Planning Board for a March 18 public hearing and to recommend the existing language or to recommend to the City Council amendments to that language.
Carl Vincent, who was appointed to the Planning Board after the proposed ordinance was sent to the City Council, spoke Thursday night as a private citizen suggesting that the buffer be increased to a uniform 500 feet to give residents additional protection.
State law pertaining to possession, use of sale of illegal drugs in proximity of a school used to be 1,000 feet, but has been modified and reduced 500 feet.
“I understand that this is a complicated issue. It’s legal under state law, but it is still a federal offense,” Vincent said. “I’m suggesting changes for public safety. The school exclusion zone used to be 1,000 feet. Now it’s down to 500 and 300 feet. I would like to see it at 1,000 feet again.”
At-large Councilor Dan Allie asked if the city could extend the moratorium. Vinskey responded that the Attorney General has declared that local moratoriums statewide will expire on May 1, 2014.
The council referred the proposed ordinance to its Legislative & Ordinance Committee and to the Zoning, Planning & Development Committee, as well as back to the Planning Board for review.
