STAMFORD — Stamford’s two hybrid cannabis dispensaries are enough for now, according to the Zoning Board.
At its Monday night meeting, the board voted overwhelmingly to deny an application for a special permit to Sweetspot, a growing craft cannabis company whose owners hail from Stamford. The company was aiming to set up shop in a longtime mixed-use office and retail building at 111 High Ridge Road — a main artery connecting suburban parts of Stamford with the city’s downtown.
Four members of the Zoning Board — Rosanne McManus, William Morris, Gerald Bosak Jr. and Racquel Smith-Anderson — voted to deny the application. Chair David Stein abstained from voting.
Members listed concerns about traffic and proximity to schools and nearby businesses serving children and families. Multiple members called for a moratorium on new cannabis dispensaries in the city before another retailer can be approved.
“One of my key concerns was that we need to take into consideration the general health and welfare of the neighboring community,” Smith-Anderson said. “Even though the public act for cannabis does allow adult usage for cannabis, it also allows each municipality to amend their zoning regulations regarding usage and the establishments and the locations.”
Morris suggested putting a halt on similar proposals, at least for the near future.
“I personally think that until we can get back to our regulations to come up with some new regulations regarding marijuana facilities, I think we should in Stamford have a moratorium on any new approvals,” Morris said.
Board members who advocated for a moratorium — McManus, Bosak and Smith-Anderson — said it would allow them to study the impact of recreational cannabis on Stamford more closely, before they move ahead with approving another dispensary.
The cannabis outlet would have been Stamford’s third hybrid dispensary, where both recreational and medicinal cannabis are sold. Both Fine Fettle Dispensary, at 12 Research Drive in the Glenbrook Industrial Park, and Curaleaf Stamford, at 814 E. Main St. on the city’s East Side, were previously medical-only providers that received state and local approval to start selling recreational cannabis in January.
But Sweetspot’s plans garnered pushback from the start. Within weeks, an oppositional online petition — which company owners said was rife with misinformation — garnered hundreds of signatures. Those opposed to the business harped on its proximity to nearby homes and its location in a mixed-use building where several children-focused businesses are housed. They also complained about traffic congestion on High Ridge Road, where a Whole Foods and multiple restaurants are currently under construction.
Stein, the lone Zoning Board member who did not vote outright to deny the application, said he mostly agreed with fellow board members’ sentiments. But he noted that evidence backing his colleagues’ concerns was scant.
“We have two dispensaries in town. We’ve seen no evidence, or received no evidence, that there have been traffic issues with either one … we’ve heard nothing from the police department about issues where people are breaking the law and the police need to be called, and we’ve heard nothing about any harm to the neighbors,” Stein said.
Jason Webski, Sweetspot’s CEO, said the decision was confusing. He told The Stamford Advocate that Sweetspot is exploring legal options to challenge the Zoning Board’s decision in court.
“They were basically asking how do we write down that we’re denying them. There’s no legal reason for them to deny us,” Webski said. “It’s just frustrating to spend so much money and time, but I can assure you that we’re not walking away from this.”
Webski, a Stamford native, said he’s disappointed to see his hometown become, as he put it, “anti-business.”
“You couldn’t even count the number of times that these people said the word feelings, because they just made a decision based on (President Richard) Nixon-era propaganda,” Webski said. “It has nothing to do with laws.”
Earlier this month, the Planning Board recommended new regulations governing hybrid dispensaries to the Zoning Board for approval. If approved, the rules would prohibit recreational-only dispensaries, ensure dispensaries are at least 2,000 feet from public and private schools and stop any dispensary from being less than 2,000 feet from another one.
Retailers would also be limited to one outlet per 20,000 residents, effectively placing a cap of six dispensaries on the city. As of last year, Stamford’s population was about 136,000 people.
McManus said that she would be open to considering Sweetspot’s application again, after the new businesses planned for High Ridge Road open up to customers.
“I would be comforted to come back in six or eight months and I might have a different feeling about it because some of the businesses would be open and we will have more time to talk about how many (dispensaries) we think the city of Stamford can hold,” McManus said.
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