HANSON – Sometimes just because you’re told you could, doesn’t mean you can.
The Select Board on Tuesday, Dec. 10 reviewed the cannabis social equity policy in the wake of new regulations recently put forth by the Cannabis Control Commission, and unanimously approved it – more as a protection vehicle than anything else, they said.
This requirement gives teeth to the CCC determination that social equity factors such as race and gender must be considered in awarding cannabis licenses by communities.
“The CCC requires each community to adopt and put into place a social equity policy with regard to cannabis, whether its retail or medical type of sales within a community,” Town Administrator Lisa Green said.
Hanson’s specific policy was drafted by town counsel, and Green reminded the board that Hanson has not approved any retail licenses, and that Town Meeting voted not to allow types of that business in town.
The language under consideration, however, is language town counsel added showing that Hanson has restricted cannabis to the point where, so far, a grow facility is the only marijuana business in town.
Once adopted, the bylaw just outlines the social equity guidelines in the program and how the town would go about making decisions on the license applications, if anything would change in the future.
“This policy [also] contemplates that we will limit the licensing to the one license we already have, but that we would not be offering any additional licenses,” Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “That’s more protective of us and more in keeping with what we talked about. Absent that language, we don’t have any limits on the number of establishments.
She did point out than any applicants would still have to meet planning requirements and location limitations.
“That’s just additional protection for us,” she said.
Selectman Ed Heal said the limit on the present business the town has is not clearly spelled out.
Town Planner Anthony DeFrias said, in a purely hypothetical example, if someone wanted to increase the number of cannabis businesses to two or three, and a social equity business applies to the town, they must receive the second license first. Until that business is up and running, if a third business applied, but did not meet social equity criteria that business could not be approved for a license until the social equity business is up and running.
“Right now, you have just one license,” DeFrias said. “This is almost like a liquor license. You have only X-amount of licenses.”
Board members, including FitzGerald-Kemmett and Heal were left with the impression they could hold at the one licensee they approved.
“This is your policy,” DeFrias said. “You’d have to go to town meeting is you want more than one license.”
“Which we’re not planning on doing,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.
“This keeps you in conformance with the law,” DeFrias said.
The Select Board voted to accept, with regret, Frank Milisi’s resignation from both the Camp Kiwanee and Capital Improvement committees – a development Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said was “rather sad.”
Milisi is going back to school, which she said is a wonderful thing for him and his family.
“We fully support that and really want to thank Frank for all the excellent work that he’s done over both of those committees and a number of other things,” she said.
Heal asked, in a light-hearted vein, if she had tried to talk him out of it.
“That’s the first thing I did when I got the call was, ‘What can I do to keep you?,’” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.