BROOKFIELD — With a moratorium that restricts the opening of new cannabis businesses in town set to expire in May, the Zoning Commission has scheduled a public hearing to gather feedback from residents and business owners before adopting proposed zoning regulations to allow such establishments to operate.
The hearing will be held at 7 p.m. March 28 in Room 133 of the Brookfield Municipal Center.
Zoning Commission Chairman Curtis Timmerman said “the more public input” the commission receives “the better.”
“We’re there just as the commission to take in public input, see what’s good for the town and come up with some final regs,” Timmerman said, explaining that gathering public input is part of the process of amending the town’s zoning regulations.
According to town officials, the regulations, if adopted as currently proposed, would cap the retail and medical operations, allowing the opening of one cannabis retailer and one medical marijuana dispensary. The regulations would also allow the establishment of cannabis production facilities, which include cannabis producers, cultivators, micro-cultivators, and food and beverage manufacturers, with no caps currently listed.
The proposed regulations would allow cannabis establishments to open through special permits in the town’s commercial and industrial zoned districts. The town’s Marine Commercial and Town Center District are excluded from those districts where cannabis establishments would be allowed.
If the listed types of cannabis establishments the regulations would permit appear to be broad so far, that is intentional. Timmerman explained that only uses explicitly mentioned in the town’s zoning regulations would be permitted once regulations are adopted.
“In other words, if it’s not permitted, it’s prohibited,” Timmerman said. “Whenever we do a regulation change, an application to do so, we have to put everything that might be possible in there. Because if it’s not there in the application, we cannot add anything after the fact that’s more permissive.”
Timmerman said the commission will take input from the public and then “we’ll discuss and deliberate among ourselves and we can remove things from it. It’s more of a paring down process from the universe of possible to what’s the final regulations we’re going to approve.”
According to a news release from Brookfield officials, before a special permit application is given for any cannabis establishment a public hearing must be held.
“The Zoning Commission must consider specific criteria for each application, including but not limited to: neighborhood compatibility, suitability of location, adequate access to utilities and services and nuisance avoidance measures. During this process, the public would be given an opportunity to comment on any application,” the town’s news release stated.
H/T: StamfordAdvocate
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