Flower Xpress gets needed zoning change for marijuana facility next to MBTA station

BRAINTREE – The chief executive of Flower Xpress said the company will move quickly to build a marijuana cultivation and processing facility next to the Braintree MBTA station after the town council approved a needed zoning change Tuesday night, Aug. 2.

The executive, Dru Ledbetter, said she planned to put down a deposit Wednesday on the long-empty Ivory Street warehouse that would house the operation.

"We're going to work right away," Ledbetter said as she accepted congratulatory hugs from co-workers after the vote.

By a 6-3 margin, the minimum vote needed for passage, the council approved a zoning change to allow nonretail marijuana operations in the town's highway business zones. The zoning change now goes to Mayor Charles Kokoros for his approval.

Construction of the Ivory Street facility still requires site plan approval from the town's zoning board and the the OK of the state Cannabis Control Commission. The planning board endorsed the zoning change.

Proponents of the zoning said the town needs the tax revenue the facility would bring in, which Ledbetter estimated at  as much as $6 million per year.

Town meeting: Hingham taxpayers' bills would rise if $160M for school, public safety building approved

Hull's Atlantic House: The grandest South Shore hotel of the Gilded Age

Opponents of the change cast doubt on the revenue estimate. They also pointed to the town's vote against legalizing marijuana in a 2016 state referendum.

Residents expressed concern about a range of issues, including possible odors and air pollution, the impact on the water and sewer systems, the traffic  the facility would generate and whether it would encourage drug use among the town's young people.

Town Council President Meredith Boericke, whose District 5 includes the proposed site of the facility, voted in favor of the change, pointing to the town's strapped finances.

"This community is without sufficient funds," Boericke said. "If we want to be a thriving community, we must say yes to opportunities for redevelopment and new growth."

Decisions, decisions: Braintree's Jack Fitzgerald commits to Div. 1 baseball at Dayton

District 4 Town Councilor Stephen O'Brien was one of those who questioned the revenue projections. He pointed to the 2016 referendum and the opposition of most residents who spoke at public hearings on the proposal as reasons for his vote against it.

"The town is speaking and the town has spoken" against marijuana businesses, O'Brien said.

District 2 Town Councilor Joseph Reynolds said Flower Xpress didn't submit  enough financial information to the council and the marijuana facility would not be the best use of the property. He said the matter should be put on the ballot, making the town's voters "the final arbiter."

Special delivery: Marijuana delivery service to open Quincy warehouse by the end of the year

Along for the ride: Two more Quirk car dealerships are coming to Braintree's Quincy Avenue

Town Clerk James Casey said last month that the earliest the council could put the question on the ballot would be next November's town election.

Town Councilor-at-Large Shannon Hume supported the zoning change, saying the facility would create about 200 jobs.

"This will allow a legal business to operate in our town," she said.

The vote came after more than three hours of discussion. Joining Reynolds and O'Brien in voting against it was District 6 Town Councilor Lawrence Mackin.

If it gains the remaining approvals, the Flower Xpress facility would be the town's second marijuana business. A medical marijuana store and production facility has been approved for Granite Street near the South Shore Plaza. It is scheduled to open later this year.

Thanks to our subscribers who make this coverage possible.  Please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.

Reach Fred Hanson at fhanson@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Flower Xpress plans marijuana facility next to Braintree MBTA station