At its April 12 meeting, the Planning Board voted on final versions of the marijuana bylaws to be put forward as Article 33 at the May 5 Annual Town Meeting. The first limits the number of marijuana establishments in the commercial district to one, while the second allows the growing of up to 10,000 square feet of marijuana per lot in the agricultural/residential(AR) district, either indoors or outdoors.
Under the final proposal, the single establishment in the commercial district could include any number of marijuana-related activities (retail, cultivation, testing, manufacture, etc.) other than social consumption, with a footprint of up to 6,000 square feet. Board members unanimously condemned “social consumption establishments” on the grounds that they would encourage impaired driving.
In the AR district, the 10,000-square-foot limit corresponds to a “Tier Two” cultivation facility as defined by the state Cannabis Control Commission, with multiple layers of plants counting against the total even if they do not expand the footprint of the growth area. Board members decided to limit outdoor cultivation, as they deemed the opaque fences necessary to obscure the plants from public ways to be an imposition on the town’s viewsheds.
Board members anticipate that residents may challenge the specifics of the proposed bylaws at Annual Town Meeting, and have prepared to adjust the numbers upward or downward as needed. They are universally eager to pass some form of regulation, as a failure to do so would leave marijuana almost entirely unregulated in the town.
