By Claire Bessette on TheDay
Preston ― With reluctance and a bit of resignation, the Planning and Zoning Commission will propose zoning regulations that would allow one cannabis cultivation facility and one retail dispensary to operate here.
After the state approved allowing adult-use recreational marijuana in 2021, the commission enacted a moratorium for six months and then extended it for another six months to give members time to consider how to restrict placement of the facilities. With the moratorium about to expire Sept. 20, Town Planner Kathy Warzecha presented the commission with options for restricting placement of the facilities in town.
The commission will now hold a public hearing on regulations overseeing both cannabis retail and cultivation operations on Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall before adopting any regulations.
If Preston did not act either to extend the moratorium or to create specific zoning regulations, the state would apply the closest similar zoning regulations for cannabis proposals.
“If you want to have some kind of control over it, you have to have the regulations,” Warzecha told the commission.
State law currently limits the number of facilities allowed in a town based on population. Preston, with a population under 5,000, could have one retail outlet and one cultivation facility. Warzecha stressed that the cultivation facility, although it involves growing marijuana plants, is not considered agriculture and would be more of an industrial manufacturing operation, contained inside a large building.
Commissioners expressed mixed opinions on the matter, ranging from continuing the moratorium to allowing cultivation on any farm property ― an idea ultimately rejected for stricter controls.
“Personally, I don’t have that much of a problem with growing, but I do have a problem with selling it,” Warzecha said at the start of the discussion. “… I think morally and ethically we should really consider what it’s doing to society. But that is a little deeper than we need to get, because the law says you can have it, so that’s really what we’re dealing with.”
The commission agreed to allow both retail and cultivation facilities, with a required 1,000-foot separation distance from any municipal building, public park or recreational facility, school, nursery school or childcare or adult daycare center, substance abuse treatment facility or place of worship.
Cultivation facilities would be restricted to industrial zones, along Route 2 near the Norwich border and along routes 2A and 117 in Hallville, where a former mill is located.
Retail cannabis outlets would be limited to the C1 commercial zones, which are scattered throughout town; the Resort Commercial zone along Route 2 near the Ledyard border and the Thames River Zone, which encompasses the former Norwich Hospital property and land around it, to a point on Route 12 south of the Mohegan-Pequot Bridge intersection.
Any proposed cannabis application would require a special exception permit, which would require a public hearing.
Warzecha said the Thames River zone is a bit different, because the zone allows developers to propose uses not specifically allowed, through a so-called “floating zone” to cover a section of the land where a specific development is proposed.
Warzecha said applications would be treated “first come, first served” under the current state limit of one of each facility in town. She acknowledged that the state law could change and allow more facilities in the future.
Commission member Rich Chalifoux said he sees no difference between alcohol and marijuana facilities, saying both should be treated seriously.
“They both cause problems, so why invite more problems into your town,” he said. Chalifoux said he would rather the town continue the moratorium.
“If they can go to another town and get it, I’m fine with that. I’d rather not see either one,” Chalifoux said.
“I’m kind of torn,” member Zachary Tarner said. “I could see it going either way. Really, it’s inevitable though. Sooner or later, it’s going to be everywhere.”
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