Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
The City Council voted to allow medical marijuana dispensaries in business and industrial districts citywide Monday.
In a 6-3 vote, the council amended the city's zoning ordinance to allow dispensaries within business and industrial districts. The amendment prohibits dispensaries from opening within 1,800 feet of one another. The Ordinance Committee may reconsider the ordinance if state recreational marijuana regulations impact the location of medical marijuana dispensaries, particularly if they allow medical and recreational marijuana dispensaries to share a location.
Before the vote, medical marijuana shops were allowed in two specific parts of Harvard Square, in the North Point area north of the Monsignor O'Brien Highway, in the Fresh Pond Mall and in the portion of the Alewife area bounded by Fresh Pond Parkway and Concord Avenue. The smaller of the two Harvard Square districts was added at the request of the owners of a proposed medical marijuana shop in 2016.
The city's business zoning districts encompass parts of Harvard and Central Squares, much of Massachusetts Avenue from Richard Avenue through Porter Square to Wendell Street and along much of Cambridge Avenue from Inman Square to Second Street. Much of the city's industrial zoning districts are clustered outside Kendall Square along Binney, Rogers and Bent Streets.
Councilors' concerns
Councilors Craig Kelley, David Maher and Tim Toomey all voted against amending the ordinance.
Maher said he was concerned the buffer zone between dispensaries isn't big enough.
"This is very, very small," Maher said.
Kelley said in an email to the Chronicle that he is concerned that if the city allows medical dispensaries in one area of Cambridge then it won't be able to prohibit recreational sales within that same area.
"We already have a number of permitted, or getting permitted, medical marijuana shops and there are others in nearby towns so there are numerous options for people to get medical marijuana and those options are already going to increase," Kelley said. "We should have waited to see how the recreational marijuana program shakes out before expanding the medical use, to be followed by the recreational sales, into some of Cambridge's densest areas."
Toomey told the Chronicle in a follow-up email that he supports providing easy access to medical marijuana, but he feels the city already achieves this with the current zoning.
"I wasn't willing to put faith in a state legislative process to clear up the issue of medical vs. recreational zoning and uses when we could be doing it ourselves with a little patience," he wrote. "The discussion around this petition was focused on medical and I don't know that residents were aware that the recent ballot question says we can't disallow recreational use in zones where we allow medical. So we just essentially zoned all these areas for recreational use as well."
Planning board opposed
Members of the Planning Board also voiced its opposition to the zoning amendment, citing "a great deal of uncertainty regarding the recent non-medical marijuana law" in a letter submitted to the council by chair, Theodore Cohen.
"Potential land use concerns related to non-medical marijuana retail establishments are not well understood because there have been no regulations promulgated at the state level, and it appears that such regulations may not be known for many months," Cohen said.
There are currently three medical marijuana dispensaries that are in the permitting process, Cohen said, but since none have actually begun operation yet, "it is still difficult to gauge their benefits and impacts to the community and whether additional service will be needed."
While some expressed concerns that the buffer zone, which was originally 1,500 feet but was later amended to 1,800, was too small, Vice Mayor Marc McGovern said there were other protections to prevent dispensaries from opening too close to one another.
"You have to take the totality of the ordinance," McGovern said. "It's certain zones, right, so that's the first protection, it can't go into residential areas. It's 1,500 linear feet, and 500 feet from a place where children congregate. When you take all of that together you're not going to have clusters."
McGovern estimated the ordinance would allow for five to six dispensaries to open in Cambridge "at the most."
McGovern also pointed out that the city could still withhold letters of approval in order to prevent too many dispensaries from opening in Cambridge.
"So if we feel that four dispensaries, or three dispensaries are right we can not issue a letter of approval and see how things play out and maybe issue something down the road," McGovern said. "So it doesn't take the control away from the city."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Author: Adam Sennott
Contact: 781-433-6700
Photo Credit: Erin Baldassari
Website: Wicked Local Cambridge
In a 6-3 vote, the council amended the city's zoning ordinance to allow dispensaries within business and industrial districts. The amendment prohibits dispensaries from opening within 1,800 feet of one another. The Ordinance Committee may reconsider the ordinance if state recreational marijuana regulations impact the location of medical marijuana dispensaries, particularly if they allow medical and recreational marijuana dispensaries to share a location.
Before the vote, medical marijuana shops were allowed in two specific parts of Harvard Square, in the North Point area north of the Monsignor O'Brien Highway, in the Fresh Pond Mall and in the portion of the Alewife area bounded by Fresh Pond Parkway and Concord Avenue. The smaller of the two Harvard Square districts was added at the request of the owners of a proposed medical marijuana shop in 2016.
The city's business zoning districts encompass parts of Harvard and Central Squares, much of Massachusetts Avenue from Richard Avenue through Porter Square to Wendell Street and along much of Cambridge Avenue from Inman Square to Second Street. Much of the city's industrial zoning districts are clustered outside Kendall Square along Binney, Rogers and Bent Streets.
Councilors' concerns
Councilors Craig Kelley, David Maher and Tim Toomey all voted against amending the ordinance.
Maher said he was concerned the buffer zone between dispensaries isn't big enough.
"This is very, very small," Maher said.
Kelley said in an email to the Chronicle that he is concerned that if the city allows medical dispensaries in one area of Cambridge then it won't be able to prohibit recreational sales within that same area.
"We already have a number of permitted, or getting permitted, medical marijuana shops and there are others in nearby towns so there are numerous options for people to get medical marijuana and those options are already going to increase," Kelley said. "We should have waited to see how the recreational marijuana program shakes out before expanding the medical use, to be followed by the recreational sales, into some of Cambridge's densest areas."
Toomey told the Chronicle in a follow-up email that he supports providing easy access to medical marijuana, but he feels the city already achieves this with the current zoning.
"I wasn't willing to put faith in a state legislative process to clear up the issue of medical vs. recreational zoning and uses when we could be doing it ourselves with a little patience," he wrote. "The discussion around this petition was focused on medical and I don't know that residents were aware that the recent ballot question says we can't disallow recreational use in zones where we allow medical. So we just essentially zoned all these areas for recreational use as well."
Planning board opposed
Members of the Planning Board also voiced its opposition to the zoning amendment, citing "a great deal of uncertainty regarding the recent non-medical marijuana law" in a letter submitted to the council by chair, Theodore Cohen.
"Potential land use concerns related to non-medical marijuana retail establishments are not well understood because there have been no regulations promulgated at the state level, and it appears that such regulations may not be known for many months," Cohen said.
There are currently three medical marijuana dispensaries that are in the permitting process, Cohen said, but since none have actually begun operation yet, "it is still difficult to gauge their benefits and impacts to the community and whether additional service will be needed."
While some expressed concerns that the buffer zone, which was originally 1,500 feet but was later amended to 1,800, was too small, Vice Mayor Marc McGovern said there were other protections to prevent dispensaries from opening too close to one another.
"You have to take the totality of the ordinance," McGovern said. "It's certain zones, right, so that's the first protection, it can't go into residential areas. It's 1,500 linear feet, and 500 feet from a place where children congregate. When you take all of that together you're not going to have clusters."
McGovern estimated the ordinance would allow for five to six dispensaries to open in Cambridge "at the most."
McGovern also pointed out that the city could still withhold letters of approval in order to prevent too many dispensaries from opening in Cambridge.
"So if we feel that four dispensaries, or three dispensaries are right we can not issue a letter of approval and see how things play out and maybe issue something down the road," McGovern said. "So it doesn't take the control away from the city."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Author: Adam Sennott
Contact: 781-433-6700
Photo Credit: Erin Baldassari
Website: Wicked Local Cambridge
