MIDDLETOWN — City officials soundly rejected a request for a special zoning exception and text amendment to allow cannabis retail establishments in the Main Street business district.
Most of the Middletown Planning & Zoning members concurred during their meeting Wednesday that such an enterprise does not belong in the family- and business-friendly downtown.
Middletown’s one retail outlet, Venu Flower Collective at 895 Washington St. (Route 66), opened in July 2023. Westport-based Bluepoint Wellness runs it.
So far, no applications to operate downtown have been submitted to the Land Use office, Land Use Director Marek Kozikowski, said.
The proposals were made for two reasons, Kozikowski said during his Sept. 25 presentation.
It would boost economic development by diversifying the types of businesses along the main corridor and generate revenue for the city through a 3 percent tax on gross sales, he explained.
Presently, cannabis sales are only allowed in the Newfield Street corridor and commercial zones.
When officials were considering amending the code to allow cannabis dispensaries in 2021, Kozikowski said, there were many concerns about excessive traffic on already congested Route 66.
“That property has not been the traffic generator we thought cannabis retail would be,” he said, referring to Venu. “We thought there would be traffic nightmares,” akin to what happened in Massachusetts when marijuana was legalized there a few years back.
Kozikowski said he attributes that to the convenience of online ordering and the drive-thru at Venu.
If the measure had been approved, the director said, the city would have required at least a 1,500-foot distance from other such establishments.
Commissioner Sebastian Giuliano argued that since cannabis sales are permitted in two zones already, there’s no reason to change the code. “I don’t see how this is compatible with the business or life atmosphere of downtown at all,” he said.
Commissioner Morgan Monarca said he has no issue with cannabis being sold — or those who use it. However, he said, “In the historic area of Main Street, it’s very family-oriented: restaurants, Kidcity (Children’s Museum and) special events.”
“If you want to sell cannabis in a storefront, I don’t think Main Street Middletown is the place for it,” he said.
When he visits the North End, Monarca continued, there is evidence of marijuana use. “If you go down there, you smell weed. I don’t think it’s going to draw that kind of problem.”
“It belongs somewhere else on the outskirts of Main Street … that’s my one gripe,” he said.
Member John Carlson pointed out cannabis retail outlets are similar to package stores on and near Main Street.
“Is the view of having liquor stores in the area of restaurants and Amato’s and Kidcity really that different from having a dispensary?” he asked commissioners.
“It’s not a notable difference from having a liquor store in the family values, ‘think of the kids’ argument,” Carlson continued.
Four letters were sent to the commission, three opposing the proposal.
The Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments said there would be no “substantial intermunicipal impact” on Portland, the Connecticut River, or the Long Island Sound.
Also, RiverCOG Deputy Director Emeritus J.H. Torrance Downes wrote that the proposal is consistent with the agency’s Regional Plan of Conservation and Development.
Republican Town Committee Chairman William Wilson is entirely against the idea. “You need to take a step back, and you need … to say no,” he told commissioners. “Get rid of this completely and move on. You don’t want it on Main Street.”
Amato’s Toy & Hobby owner Diane Gervais wrote that she’s concerned a dispensary on Main Street would “alter the family friendly vibe” and “doesn’t belong in the historic downtown.”
Downtown Business District Coordinator Sandra Russo-Driska wrote a letter signed by several business owners.
“The DBD strongly feels that this type of retail does not support the type of culture and environment we work hard to cultivate for our visitors,” she said.
“While we understand the changing landscape of cannabis sales and retail in these times, we feel we have plenty of locations in Middletown that this can be done without compromising the integrity of our downtown, and the goals we have and will continue to work towards,” Russo-Driska wrote.
The letter was signed by business owners, including Middlesex Music Academy owner and DBD Chairman Matt Lefebvre, Kidcity founder Jen Alexander, developer Patrick Harding, and Katie Hughes-Nelson, who runs Perk on Main.
Giuliano said he suspects other entrepreneurs feel the same way. “Those people have invested an awful lot in downtown.”
“I don’t see how a marijuana dispensary is compatible with what they do. I don’t know why anybody would think this is a good idea,” Giuliano said.
The board ultimately rejected the proposal 6-1.
