Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
It looks like Town Meeting will be able to vote on whether to permanently ban the sale of recreational marijuana in town.
The Board of Selectmen Monday night unanimously approved a request to have Town Manager Andrew Flanagan draw up two questions for a Jan. 29, 2018 special town meeting regarding the banning of retail pot shops.
Flanagan will be drafting a general bylaw calling for an outright ban on the stores as well as a zoning bylaw that would prohibit recreational retailers from town. The Board of Selectmen, along with the Finance Committee, will, as part of the normal town meeting process, consider whether to pass those measures to town meeting.
Paul Salafia, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said he thinks the board will support both warrant articles.
"I thought the limited discussion we had leaned toward not having recreational marijuana (sales) in our town limits," he said. "It is hard to predict what the board will want to do, but that's my sense."
That would be in line with how town voters felt about the sale of recreational marijuana. Voters last year statewide approved pot shops but Andover voters chose not to support the referendum question by a vote of 53 percent to 47 percent.
Under state law, communities that voted against legalizing marijuana in the 2016 elected can ban recreational marijuana sales without another ballot vote.
Andover will put the matter before Town Meeting voters.
The timing of any kind of a vote is important, according to town counsel Tom Urbelis.
A moratorium on recreational marijuana sales was passed at Andover's May 2017 Town Meeting. The moratorium lasts through Dec. 18, 2018.
But, Urbelis said, that moratorium may no longer be enough to stop pot shops.
"A question has arisen as to whether the moratorium would effectively prohibit recreational use after April 1, 2018," Town Council Thomas Urbelis said.
On Monday Urbelis presented the board with recent legislative changes that may alter how the town wishes to proceed. According to Urbelis, because the town voted against legalizing recreational marijuana use on Question 4 during the 2016 election, the town may adopt a bylaw prohibiting recreational establishments in the town without also issuing a referendum vote.
There is a Dec. 31, 2019, deadline to submit such a bylaw to the attorney general. After that a referendum vote on a town election ballot will also be needed to pass a bylaw.
However, Urbelis explained, the real deadline for such a bylaw is April 1, 2018, because the state Cannabis Control Commission is set to begin accepting applications on that date. The concern of the town is that the commission may be able to approve a marijuana license if a town does not prohibit recreational marijuana establishments with a bylaw.
"The attorney general is advising in an informal way that if a town is going to prohibit it they should get a bylaw passed and in place before April 1," Urbelis said.
The selectmen are responsible for sponsoring the warrant article and, if approved by the selectmen, will go on the Special Town Meeting warrant to be voted on Jan. 29, 2018.
The timeframe to submit warrant articles for the Special Town Meeting is from Nov. 27 to Dec. 15, but even then, a placeholder could be used to give Flanagan and other town officials more time to draft the articles.
A special town meeting has already been scheduled for Jan. 29 so voters can take up the issue of whether to approve a long-term deal with North Reading to supply its drinking water. The other matter that may also end up before town meeting voters is whether to approve a zoning bylaw that would permit housing as part of a commercial/retail/office complex on Dascomb Road proposed by Sal Lupoli.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Andover prepares 2 marijuana questions for Jan. town meeting | News | andovertownsman.com
Author: Kelsey Bode
Contact: Contact Us | Site | andovertownsman.com
Photo Credit: Getty
Website: andovertownsman.com | Andover's hometown newspaper
The Board of Selectmen Monday night unanimously approved a request to have Town Manager Andrew Flanagan draw up two questions for a Jan. 29, 2018 special town meeting regarding the banning of retail pot shops.
Flanagan will be drafting a general bylaw calling for an outright ban on the stores as well as a zoning bylaw that would prohibit recreational retailers from town. The Board of Selectmen, along with the Finance Committee, will, as part of the normal town meeting process, consider whether to pass those measures to town meeting.
Paul Salafia, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said he thinks the board will support both warrant articles.
"I thought the limited discussion we had leaned toward not having recreational marijuana (sales) in our town limits," he said. "It is hard to predict what the board will want to do, but that's my sense."
That would be in line with how town voters felt about the sale of recreational marijuana. Voters last year statewide approved pot shops but Andover voters chose not to support the referendum question by a vote of 53 percent to 47 percent.
Under state law, communities that voted against legalizing marijuana in the 2016 elected can ban recreational marijuana sales without another ballot vote.
Andover will put the matter before Town Meeting voters.
The timing of any kind of a vote is important, according to town counsel Tom Urbelis.
A moratorium on recreational marijuana sales was passed at Andover's May 2017 Town Meeting. The moratorium lasts through Dec. 18, 2018.
But, Urbelis said, that moratorium may no longer be enough to stop pot shops.
"A question has arisen as to whether the moratorium would effectively prohibit recreational use after April 1, 2018," Town Council Thomas Urbelis said.
On Monday Urbelis presented the board with recent legislative changes that may alter how the town wishes to proceed. According to Urbelis, because the town voted against legalizing recreational marijuana use on Question 4 during the 2016 election, the town may adopt a bylaw prohibiting recreational establishments in the town without also issuing a referendum vote.
There is a Dec. 31, 2019, deadline to submit such a bylaw to the attorney general. After that a referendum vote on a town election ballot will also be needed to pass a bylaw.
However, Urbelis explained, the real deadline for such a bylaw is April 1, 2018, because the state Cannabis Control Commission is set to begin accepting applications on that date. The concern of the town is that the commission may be able to approve a marijuana license if a town does not prohibit recreational marijuana establishments with a bylaw.
"The attorney general is advising in an informal way that if a town is going to prohibit it they should get a bylaw passed and in place before April 1," Urbelis said.
The selectmen are responsible for sponsoring the warrant article and, if approved by the selectmen, will go on the Special Town Meeting warrant to be voted on Jan. 29, 2018.
The timeframe to submit warrant articles for the Special Town Meeting is from Nov. 27 to Dec. 15, but even then, a placeholder could be used to give Flanagan and other town officials more time to draft the articles.
A special town meeting has already been scheduled for Jan. 29 so voters can take up the issue of whether to approve a long-term deal with North Reading to supply its drinking water. The other matter that may also end up before town meeting voters is whether to approve a zoning bylaw that would permit housing as part of a commercial/retail/office complex on Dascomb Road proposed by Sal Lupoli.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Andover prepares 2 marijuana questions for Jan. town meeting | News | andovertownsman.com
Author: Kelsey Bode
Contact: Contact Us | Site | andovertownsman.com
Photo Credit: Getty
Website: andovertownsman.com | Andover's hometown newspaper
