(Front)Planning Board chair Linda Hamlin and Steve Hamlin, (rear) Jeff Wyand and Evey Korfias celebrate at the passage of the new marijuana bylaws. (Photo by Amy Porter)
HUNTINGTON – After two years of painstaking work and research by the Planning Board, residents of Huntington approved five articles related to marijuana at the Annual Town Meeting on Monday with little opposition.
Residents voted to impose a local sales tax upon the sale of adult use marijuana within the town at a rate of 3% of the gross receipts, after Planning Board chair Linda Hamlin explained that this general bylaw was the only way the town would be allowed to assess the permitted 3% sales tax.
There was some discussion on the prohibition on public consumption of marijuana, which included vaping whether the ingredient in the device was marijuana or anything else. Resident Melissa Nazzaro questioned the street or sidewalk prohibition of the vaping of tobacco as not being realistic. The article was amended to include a prohibition on vaping of any substance where tobacco is already prohibited, and the question passed with six no votes, the most at the meeting.
The heftiest article, which took up 13 pages, of which five were definitions, was the insertion into the zoning bylaws of a new section on Adult Use Marijuana. Its stated purpose was to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public as well as legally authorized adult customers, to regulate the use and development of the land and structures in the town in an appropriate manner, to ensure that facilities are not located within 500 feet of any public or private school or preschool, and do not become concentrated in any one area in town.
Specifics included a prohibition of public consumption sites, retail hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and a limit of two Marijuana Retail Establishments (MRE) in town, not to exceed 20% of licenses issued for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages.
The Planning Board also recommended indoor-only cultivation (including barns and greenhouses) of up to 5,000 square-feet of canopy, by either marijuana microbusinesses or a craft marijuana cooperative, with a potential of up to 20 cultivators (the state limit of 100,000 square-feet of canopy). Both types must be a majority of Massachusetts residents.
Resident Karen Wittshirk asked for clarification on Massachusetts residency. After looking up the state definition, the bylaw was amended to being a resident of Massachusetts 183 days (six months and one day) during the year. Hamlin said if the Planning Board could have restricted cultivation to Huntington residents, they would have.
A resident farmer questioned the prohibition on outdoor cultivation. Hamlin said the board was concerned about cross-pollination, and contamination of other fields by the highly regulated product. Hamlin also said that male plants, from which cannabidiol (CBD) oil is extracted, are not covered at all in the bylaws.
The question was then moved, ending what could have been a long debate, and the new section in the zoning bylaws on Adult Use Marijuana passed with only two opposed. Three more articles which inserted new language into existing bylaws to conform to the new section also passed.
At the end of the meeting, Hamlin paused to accept some congratulations from residents. “I’m glad that it’s over,” she said, adding that changes can be made and the bylaws amended in the future if need be. Earlier in the meeting, she had said if the bylaws didn’t pass, the Planning Board would not take them up again.
“I’m glad the only snag was a definition. We put a lot of time into this,” said Planning Board member Jeff Wyand. He said they spent a lot of time thinking about how everyone in town could participate.
Hamlin said currently there are no applications for marijuana establishments in the town. She said two years ago, when they started the process under a moratorium, there were.
