STAMFORD — Two proposals to open cannabis dispensaries in Stamford have yet to go before the city’s Zoning Board, but opposition is already building up.
A public meeting on Monday night, followed by a small protest on Tuesday afternoon, were set up to discuss and protest the two applications — one for the city’s West Side and the other in the Cove neighborhood — that have already received the approval of the Planning Board.
On Monday night, residents gathered at Bethel AME Church for a community meeting about the possible introduction of the two new cannabis shops, which would offer cannabis for both recreational and medicinal uses. Almost all of the speakers voiced concerns for the stores and some outright opposed them.
“Take it somewhere we don’t have to see it,” said Kindrea Walston, a member of the Board of Representatives who represents a section of the West Side.
Christina Strain, another board member, said her email inbox is filling up with letters concerning the dispensary planned for the Cove.
“I’ve been getting so many letters saying that we don’t want this here,” she said.
Cannabis purveyor Ayr Wellness, a Miami-based company with more than 85 licensed dispensaries across the U.S., has filed to open a store at 417 Shippan Ave. That building is a 2,050-square-foot facility that houses Building One Community, an immigrant services nonprofit, which has already opposed Ayr’s application.
On the West Side, Budr Cannabis is hoping to open at 389 West Main St., just a few steps away from Jackie Robinson Park and about 1,000 feet away from the Yerwood Center, a community center that provides programs for the city’s youth.
Budr Cannabis is a Connecticut company, co-founded by Derrick Gibbs and Carl Tirella Jr. Gibbs, a former home healthcare worker. So far, the business partners have opened two locations, in Danbury and West Hartford, with a third in Tolland “coming soon,” according to their website.
If approved, the business would open in a 2,448-square-foot building where they would be the sole occupant.
Many speakers on Monday said they oppose one or both dispensaries because of the location where they are being proposed.
“Can we not put it by the Yerwood Center?” asked Gina Calabrese, recently elected to the city’s Democratic City Committee. “Can we not put it where there is a children’s services agency?”
However, many of the comments seemingly conflated the dispensaries with smoke shops, which have fewer regulations and have proliferated in Stamford in recent years. Unlike smoke shops and liquor stores, cannabis dispensaries have strict signage and procedures to regulate the distribution of their products.
Those in opposition argued that children should not be exposed to cannabis dispensaries and that the shops should be placed in industrial zones or along Long Ridge Road in North Stamford.
Resident Joyce Griffin was one of the few who spoke in favor of the dispensary and said the area where the Budr is hoping to open is already home to a strip club and liquor stores.
“The dispensary isn’t going to be the problem,” she said.
Ayr’s application is set to go before the city’s Zoning Board on Monday. No date has been set yet for a public hearing regarding the Budr proposal.
H/T: https://www.registercitizen.com
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