The West Tisbury zoning board of appeals this week signed off on a change of ownership for the Island’s lone commercial marijuana cultivation facility.
In a unanimous vote Thursday, the board approved Black Harbor Group’s takeover of the Fine Fettle grow facility on Dr. Fisher Road, rekindling the chances of Island-grown marijuana in dispensaries.
Fine Fettle closed the grow facility in May, and announced plans that it would also be shutting down its dispensary on State Road in West Tisbury. In September, Black Harbor Group, a Boston-based limited liability company, came to the town in search of reviving the business.
At Thursday’s meeting, the board’s discussion centered around the grow facility. Black Harbor Group is also seeking to open a dispensary, but the current lease is set to end at the start of 2025.
“We’re not maintaining the property on State Road, so that is out of our control,” said Jamarhl Crawford, a member of the Black Harbor Group.
Cornell Mills, another partner in the company, said the Martha’s Vineyard Commission was on board with the transfer of ownership of the grow facility as long as nothing was changed from when Fine Fettle was running the facility.
“They basically said that as long as things are the same and there’s no change in protocols or processes at the site, then they were fine with the transfer, which is currently taking place before the state,” he said.
Zoning board vice chair Julius Lowe echoed the desire for Black Harbor to meet all of the requirements of the past special permit, but felt there was no need for a whole new review process.
“I think that’s pretty cut and dry and you guys are doing exactly what was already approved, so carry on and good luck,” Mr. Lowe said.
The Cannabis Control Commission, the state agency that oversees marijuana businesses, is still reviewing Black Harbor Group’s application. The company would need the commission’s approval before opening.
Fine Fettle was the first dispensary to start selling marijuana on the Vineyard after it opened its doors in 2021. Its closure of the growth facility, the only one on the Island, sent reverberations across the Island because the state had previously only allowed dispensaries to sell marijuana grown on-Island.
In June, the Cannabis Control Commission changed the rule to allow marijuana to be transported over state waters for the first time.
H/T: vineyardgazette.com
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