At-Large City Councilor John J. Beltrandi, III.
WESTFIELD – At-large Councilor John J. Beltrandi, III was voted as President Pro Temp of Thursday’s City Council meeting, at which Councilors Ralph J. Figy and Brent B. Bean, II were absent. At the start of the public hearing to prohibit marijuana facilities from within 500 ft. of a park, Beltrandi said Figy had expressed some concerns about the petition, and requested that the public hearing remain open. A public hearing on the matter was also held on Tuesday at the Planning Board, which had initiated the petition to amend the ordinance.
City Planner Jay Vinskey said the Planning Board request for a 500 foot buffer from parks for any marijuana facility came up due to an application which was adjacent to an active ball field. The Planning Board initially requested a prohibition within 500 feet of parks, but Vinskey said have since changed their minds, and are now requesting a trigger for a special permit within 500 feet of parks, similar to that for schools and religious facilities. “This would add a secondary review,” Vinskey said, that would look at it on a case by case basis.
At-large Councilor Matthew Emmershy asked where this restriction would leave the city in open lots if the Council were to approve it. Vinskey said a lot of Industrial A, which is the only permitted zone for marijuana facilities, is on the north side, where parks are fairly sparse.
“Just for clarification, Industrial A right now is the one zone that’s by right. This is a statement to make an exception to trigger a special permit,” said Ward 1 Councilor Mary Ann Babinski.
“Right now it’s a site plan review,” Vinskey said, adding that the request grew out of concern with the grow facility next to the ballfield, that odors would penetrate the area.
“500 feet wipes out downtown. I would be in favor if we would exempt one district from the Industrial A requirement,” said Ward 3 Councilor Andrew K. Surprise.
Jay Vinskey, City Planner for Westfield
Vinskey said he didn’t disagree that the ordinance should be revisited, but that would be for a future discussion. He said Westfield starts with a by right use in Industrial A, while other communities require special permits for all facilities. Babinski commented that the city can only have four marijuana facilities. Vinskey said the limitations in the ordinance are just for retail, and there is no limit on grow operations.
Emmershy asked why the ordinance says not within 300 feet of residential. Vinskey said that distance was chosen to ensure that notice would be sent to abutters. He added that the state came up with the distance of 500 feet from the schools.
Beltrandi then asked members of the public to come forward for questions of fact.
“I’ve delivered to these facilities for the last five years. The smell goes half a mile before you get to it,” said Paper Mill resident Charles Valentine. He said the facilities are safe, have off duty police officers, and all of them are in Industrial A zones away from residences. “The smell carries bad,” he said, comparing it to having a skunk in your house.
Juan Navarrete of Miller St., said he was concerned about the odor, and safety for the people at the airport. “I have a son who has pulmonary issues. It’s a big concern.” Navarrete said his son has made five recent trips to the hospital, and is exposed to marijuana and vaping at school.
Brian Hoose of Arnold St. asked whether the city could require air purifiers, and whether the restriction was for growing or just distribution. “If it’s growing, a lot of that is going to be done indoors,” Hoose said.
Vinskey said the general ordinance requires commercial scrubbers, but there are still some issues with effectiveness. He said odors are only an issue with cultivation, which the Planning Board had discussed, but decided to include all facilities for review in the proposed change.
John Bowen of Pinehurst St., who originated the request as a member of the Planning Board, said they had an application before them for a grow facility that abutted a sports facility, where hundreds of kids play sports. He said the reason that the state didn’t add buffers from parks, is they don’t know have a definition for parks. He also said he thinks having the Rail Trail trigger a review is a good idea, because some areas should be excluded, and some shouldn’t be.
“The concern is the kids. This new normal of pot and vaping for kids, the less exposure they get, the better. If we don’t have this, we could have another applicant that abuts a sports field,” Bowen said.
Flaherty asked if the Planning Board discussed making all these permits special permits. Bowen said he would agree with that. “The parks are the biggest thing for me,” he said.
City Advancement Office Joe Mitchell. (WNG File Photo)
City Advancement Officer Joe Mitchell said he was opposed to the petition. “I have the utmost respect for the Planning Board and city planner, and have spoken to them about this matter, but they are misguided on this point. It’s a solution in search of a problem, which may have unintended consequences,” Mitchell said. He said the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) came up with an Adult Use ordinance that is very restrictive, and includes a 500 ft. buffer from schools and churches. He said adding parks is opening Westfield up for additional scrutiny, which is why the City Solicitor is against the motion.
Mitchell said for Adult Use, the CCC instructed cities and towns to make sure the zoning and bylaws aren’t unreasonable. “We have to be careful not to make it too difficult. It’s an allowed use,” Mitchell said. He also said if they were to draw a map with the 500 foot orbits from all pocket parks, few opportunities would be left. He said currently there are probably only four or five properties in the city where these facilities could go. “Bottom line, I’m not for it,” he said.
Mitchell said the city should allow the businesses to apply and meet every requirement for site plan approval. “With a special permit, you can say no,” he said. He also said if there are enough local complaints, the CCC will shut businesses down. “It’s very highly regulated, with plenty of checks and balances.”
Beltrandi said there are still a lot of questions to be answered. Flaherty made a motion to keep the public hearing open. Ward 6 Councilor William Onyski requested that Vinskey provide a map for the next meeting on April 6, and Surprise and Allie suggested changing the ordinance to apply only to cultivation.
