Marijuana business owner says Wells is trying to 'change the rules' to block dispensary
WELLS, Maine — An applicant seeking to open a registered marijuana dispensary is pushing back against the town’s efforts to cap at one the number of such businesses in the community.
David Stephenson, the owner of Hazy Hill Farm, a cannabis store in Portland, met with the Wells Planning Board on Monday, Dec. 19, and discussed his plans to open a medical dispensary, for card holders only, at 1616 Post Road. Stephenson acknowledged the town’s current discussion about limiting the number of dispensaries in Wells, but stated he wanted his proposal to proceed through the local Planning Board process.
“I’d like to try to move forward, so that I can try filling out the storefront this winter, as opposed to just sitting around and paying rent all winter,” said Stephenson, who was joined at the meeting by his landlord at the Post Road site.
The dispensary is proposed for one of three buildings at the site, which is within the town’s General Business District. The other two structures are approved for single-family dwellings, according to town documents.
Stephenson appeared before the Planning Board on the eve of a public hearing that selectmen were scheduled to hold on Tuesday regarding the review of a proposed retroactive ordinance to amend the town’s land use code. The proposal seeks to clarify that the number of registered marijuana dispensaries allowed in Wells be capped at one. The town is maintaining the original ordinance, enacted in 2011, called for only one such business in the community.
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Stephenson told the Planning Board he disagreed. He said he had spoken with his attorney and determined that the current ordinance, as written, does not limit the number of dispensaries in town.
“In fact, all the language referencing dispensaries is plural,” he said. “It’s not singular.”
Currently, there is one marijuana dispensary in Wells, Curaleaf, according to Town Engineer Mike Livingston. Located at 913 Post Road, Curaleaf is one of the eight original, registered dispensaries licensed by the state, Livingston added.
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On Tuesday, the Select Board also was expected to schedule a joint public hearing with the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals to consider adopting the proposed retroactive ordinance. Stephenson asserted that only Town Meeting voters could approve a cap on the number of dispensaries.
“This isn’t a simple clarification,” he said. “It’s a drastic change to the ordinance. If the Select Board, Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals try to amend that ordinance outside of Town Meeting, we believe that would be invalid and ineffective.”
Stephenson accused the town of trying to “change the rules,” now that his proposed dispensary is one of two separate, unrelated applications currently before the Planning Board.
“I don’t think that’s quite fair, unless the citizens of the town have a say in it,” he said.
In addition to Hazy Hill Farm, another applicant for a dispensary in town is Bulrush, LLC, for whom a tenant would be Jar Cannabis Company, according to Livingston, the town engineer. Bulrush submitted its application to the town on Monday, Livingston said.
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Recreational cultivation, production and sales of marijuana is not allowed in Wells, according to the town's ordinance.
In an email on Tuesday, Livingston said Stephenson was incorrect when he said only Town Meeting voters can adopt the proposed retroactive ordinance. Livingston referred to Section 2.12 in the town charter.
The section states that the Select Board has the authority to amend the town’s land use ordinance if the town’s planner, code enforcement officer and a majority of the Planning Board and Board of Appeals “all concur that immediate action is required to provide clarity and/or guidance” in the administration of the ordinance.
Members of the Planning Board did not respond to Stephenson’s comments on Monday but did schedule a site walk at his proposed site for Saturday, Jan. 7 at 9 a.m.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Wells ME plan to cap marijuana dispensaries receives pushback
