Pubdate: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 Source: Boston Globe (MA) Copyright: 2014 Globe Newspaper Company Contact: http://services.bostonglobe.com/news/opeds/letter.aspx?id=6340 Website: http://bostonglobe.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52 Author: John Laidler RULES FOR POT SITE DEBATED IN ESSEX A new town bylaw restricting medical marijuana sites is a focus of renewed debate in Essex, even as three groups pursue final state approval to open dispensaries in other communities north of Boston. The Essex bylaw, approved by Attorney General Martha Coakley last month, forbids any medical marijuana facility from being located within 2,500 feet of a school, preschool, day care center, playground, or athletic field, or within 1,500 feet of a residential dwelling. Critics say the bylaw, adopted at a June Special Town Meeting, effectively outlaws medical marijuana facilities by limiting them to sites that are in conservation areas or otherwise practically unbuildable. The attorney general last year ruled that communities cannot impose an outright ban on medical marijuana facilities when she struck down bylaws in Reading and Wakefield. The Essex measure was sponsored as a citizens' petition by residents opposing a plan to locate a marijuana-growing facility on Western Avenue. The Newton-based group proposing the facility, Garden Remedies, dropped its plans for Essex before the Town Meeting vote. Cliff Ageloff, one of several Essex residents who had urged the attorney general to reject the Essex bylaw, said that when state voters legalized medical marijuana in 2012, the intent was that "every city or town would bear the benefit or the burden of medical marijuana, that they could not zone it out by forcing facilities to locate in the wilderness. "This sets a legal precedent that other cities and towns can follow suit," he said. Scott Solombrino, one of the leaders of the group sponsoring the bylaw, said experts the group hired found there were buildable sites in town. With the ruling by Coakley's office, the matter is settled, he said. In a letter to the town approving the bylaw, Coakley said the issue of whether the new rule left sufficient land for a medical marijuana facility "is a fact-dependent matter beyond the scope of the Attorney General's bylaw review function." Somombrino said the Garden Remedies' growing site would have been one street away from a preschool, two blocks from a park, and adjacent to a school bus stop. Although Garden Remedies withdrew its plan, Solombrino said supporters of the bylaw believed it was still needed to guard against future proposals for similar locations. The state Department of Public Health has granted provisional certificates for 15 dispensaries. The agency is now evaluating whether their facilities meet safety, security, and other standards. Those that do and secure all needed local permits will receive final certificates allowing them to begin growing and selling their products. The three groups with provisional licenses north of Boston include Alternative Therapies Group, which seeks to open its dispensary in a commercial building at 50 Grove St in Salem. The group has a special permit from the city and is finalizing its construction, according to Dominick Pangallo, chief of staff to Mayor Kimberley L. Driscoll. The Globe reported that US Attorney Carmen Ortiz was considering the use of federal law to shut down dispensaries that open within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds, and public housing. The story said the Salem dispensary was among six that would be within 1,000 feet of schools or playgrounds. The Mack Park playground falls within that boundary in Salem. Pangallo said by e-mail that the playground is beyond the 500-foot buffer established in state rules and that the Mack Park Neighborhood Association and the ward councilor for that area both supported the location. "The 1,000-foot buffer concept seems like a thinly veiled effort to simply prevent dispensaries from being able to open," Pangallo said. "A buffer of that size would effectively rule out just about any potential location in Salem, which is contrary to the will of the voters here and the position of just about all of our elected city officials." The Salem dispensary plans to locate its cultivation facility at 10 Industrial Way in Amesbury. The group secured site plan approval from the city, according to Amesbury planning director Nipun Jain. Patriot Care Corp., which seeks to locate its dispensary in leased space at 70 Industrial Avenue East in Lowell, was awarded a special permit from the city and expects to file for building permits soon, according to Dennis Kunian, a spokesman for the group. Healthy Pharms seeks to open a combined dispensary and growing facility in Haverhill. The group had chosen a site on Hale Street, but the location was not included in the area set aside for medical marijuana facilities in a zoning ordinance approved by the City Council Nov. 18 that consists of part of the Broadway Business Park. Valerio Romano, Healthy Pharms' attorney, said, "We are really excited that the Haverhill City Council . . . passed the zoning ordinance and we are going to work with them and property owners in that area to find a location in that area that works for our program." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom