NEW HAVEN — With Affinity Dispensary’s plan to move closer to Interstate 91, some alders and police are voicing opposition due to concerns for children and families, given its proximity to a school and a future child care center.
Affinity, which currently operates on Whalley Avenue in the Westville section of the city, submitted an application to the City Plan Commission for a special permit to operate a hybrid dispensary and recreational cannabis retailer at 420 Middletown Ave.
The location, right off Exit 8 of I-91, houses long-standing 91 Diner. The diner’s owner hasn’t responded to a request for comment, and Affinity’s owner Ray Pantalena declined to talk about the plan.
A public hearing was scheduled before the City Plan Commission Wednesday night, but Pantalena said Thursday afternoon the dispensary asked to table it to the next month.
In an opposing letter from five alders, they said if approved, the dispensary will be right across the street from an early childcare center that is being constructed.
The FCC’s executive director wasn’t immediately available to comment.
“Being across the street from a new Child Care Center which will be opening soon is a major concern for residents and parents,” the alders said the letter, which was signed by Alders Gerald Antunes, Anna Festa, Richard Furlow, Ernic Santiago and Sarah Miller.
The alders said the location is also on the daily route of school buses and that it’s within 1,500 feet of Ross Woodward School on Barnes Avenue. Google Maps shows that the elementary school is about 2,100 feet away.
Lt. Brian McDermott, New Haven Police Department’s district manager for East Shore and Annex areas, echoed what the alders said, especially with the proximity of the new FCC’s childcare project.
“There is other commercial space available in the Foxon Boulevard area that maybe more appropriate for this type of business,” McDermott said.
Pantalena declined to comment on these concerns.
The five alders also said that neighborhoods with one or more medical or recreational dispensaries saw an increase in crime rates compared to other areas with no marijuana activity.
“As a result of reports from the area of Westville, where they presently have a facility, we feel that this type of business is not conducive or acceptable to the (quality) of life that our community has become accustomed to,” the alders said.
Affinity maintained in its application before the city that it has operated a medical dispensary since June 2019 and the hybrid center since this January “without incident.”
“The applicant is an experienced operator of these products and is a known and respected operator in the community, knowledgeable of both local and state regulations pertaining to such facilities,” Affinity’s application read.
H/T: www.nhregister.com
