Truth Seeker
New Member
Bridgewater Town Councilors unanimously approved an amendment to shorten a proposed temporary ban on medical marijuana dispensaries from nine months to three months.
"Either we'll have a zoning change before the Council by the end of the year or it won't be needed," said Councilor William Wood, who introduced the amendment to change the date the moratorium would expire from June 30 to Jan. 1.
Wood said the moratorium is intended to give the town time to enact zoning regulations that would set forth such things as the parts of town in which dispensaries would be allowed to locate. And three months is enough time to do that, he said.
"It became clear the Planning Board and Town Planner are already working on this. We don't want to be unfriendly to business," by keeping the ban in place longer than is needed, Councilor Sheila Whitaker said.
Wood said, "In some towns, a moratorium might be used simply to exclude the kind of business this talks about." But in Bridgewater, it's a sincere attempt to comply with the state law while protecting the town, he said.
Town Manager Michael Dutton said there does not seem to be any active interest in Bridgewater as a dispensary location at this time anyway.
The voter-approved medical marijuana law allows the Department of Public Health to register up to 35 non-profit marijuana dispensaries statewide, with at least one but no more than five per county.
The DPH is reviewing applications in two phases.
The deadline for Phase 1 applications was Aug. 22 and the DPH received 181. The applicants were required to list their county of preference for the dispensary location but not a specific city or town. Nineteen applicants listed Plymouth County.
But Dutton said he thinks it likely they would have contacted his office by now if they had their eye on Bridgewater as a dispensary location. He did receive three inquiries. Only one of them was from a property owner in town and that person decided not to pursue it. And the other two made contact six months ago and never followed up, he said.
Under Phase 1, the applicants fitness and suitability are the focus of the review, not the locations.
Applicants who meet the qualifications in Phase 1 will be eligible to proceed to Phase 2. At that point, a selection committee will evaluate such factors as appropriateness of the site, geographical distribution of dispensaries, local support, and the applicant's ability to meet the overall health needs of registered patients, while ensuring public safety.
The DPH anticipates the Phase 1 review will be completed by mid-September.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: enterprisenews.com
Author: Rebecca Hyman
Contact: The Enterprise Contact Us
Website: Bridgewater councilors shorten pot treatment center ban - Brockton, MA - The Enterprise
"Either we'll have a zoning change before the Council by the end of the year or it won't be needed," said Councilor William Wood, who introduced the amendment to change the date the moratorium would expire from June 30 to Jan. 1.
Wood said the moratorium is intended to give the town time to enact zoning regulations that would set forth such things as the parts of town in which dispensaries would be allowed to locate. And three months is enough time to do that, he said.
"It became clear the Planning Board and Town Planner are already working on this. We don't want to be unfriendly to business," by keeping the ban in place longer than is needed, Councilor Sheila Whitaker said.
Wood said, "In some towns, a moratorium might be used simply to exclude the kind of business this talks about." But in Bridgewater, it's a sincere attempt to comply with the state law while protecting the town, he said.
Town Manager Michael Dutton said there does not seem to be any active interest in Bridgewater as a dispensary location at this time anyway.
The voter-approved medical marijuana law allows the Department of Public Health to register up to 35 non-profit marijuana dispensaries statewide, with at least one but no more than five per county.
The DPH is reviewing applications in two phases.
The deadline for Phase 1 applications was Aug. 22 and the DPH received 181. The applicants were required to list their county of preference for the dispensary location but not a specific city or town. Nineteen applicants listed Plymouth County.
But Dutton said he thinks it likely they would have contacted his office by now if they had their eye on Bridgewater as a dispensary location. He did receive three inquiries. Only one of them was from a property owner in town and that person decided not to pursue it. And the other two made contact six months ago and never followed up, he said.
Under Phase 1, the applicants fitness and suitability are the focus of the review, not the locations.
Applicants who meet the qualifications in Phase 1 will be eligible to proceed to Phase 2. At that point, a selection committee will evaluate such factors as appropriateness of the site, geographical distribution of dispensaries, local support, and the applicant's ability to meet the overall health needs of registered patients, while ensuring public safety.
The DPH anticipates the Phase 1 review will be completed by mid-September.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: enterprisenews.com
Author: Rebecca Hyman
Contact: The Enterprise Contact Us
Website: Bridgewater councilors shorten pot treatment center ban - Brockton, MA - The Enterprise
