During the March 6 meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board, the issue of whether or not to sponsor a Town Meeting article to impose a “temporary moratorium on marijuana establishments” wasn’t at all clear, especially to new member Janice Robbins.
Planning Board Administrator Mary Crain explained that her recent attendance at an informational conference hosted by the town’s counsel Kopelman & Paige had reinforced the need for cities and towns to place a moratorium on business activities associated with the growing and selling of cannabis. She said that Town Administrator Michael Gagne had asked her to approach the Planning Board to ascertain their interest in supporting a Town Meeting article on the matter.
But Robbins was flummoxed, saying, “I don’t feel qualified to defend this at Town Meeting…. Someone could ask, ‘Where have you been since the election?’” Robbins felt that the Planning Board might not be the appropriate arm of town government to carry it to Town Meeting. She asked, “Did the Board of Selectmen have discussions?” Robbins asked that if questions were poised to the Planning Board from the Town Meeting floor, would the Planning Board be able to respond?
“I don’t feel strongly about doing this,” Robbins said. “I wouldn’t have an answer if anyone asked a question.”
Robbins asked fellow board members, “Is it the Planning Board’s job?”
According to Crain, she said that bylaws were usually crafted by the Planning Board, then cycled to the Board of Selectmen and the public review process.
Robbins held steadfast that she didn’t feel the Planning Board was adequately schooled on the subject to sponsor an article.
Planning Board member Karen Field agreed that more information was necessary before they could sponsor an article saying, “There must be pros and cons all over town.”
Crain said that there are 22 pending amendments to the state act and that the State had yet to establish what they will eventually call the Cannabis Control Commission. She said there was still time to get an article written for Town Meeting and would reach out to Gagne and possibly town counsel to set-up a meeting for the Planning Board.
Robbins shared that she was recently in Colorado, saying, “When you drive in certain areas, you can smell marijuana…. You can control that with a bylaw.”
The matter was tabled for further review.
Also coming before the board was Todd Rodrigues and partner/developer Paul Rodrigues regarding a plan modification to their proposed multi-use project Windswept Village. The modification triggered a return to the Planning Board.
The team explained that a 1,200 square-foot increase to one of the two buildings they plan to construct made the hearing necessary. The increase, they explained, had been necessitated by designing an accessible apartment on the first floor of the east building.
But board members Fields and Robbins both had questions outside the scope of what Rodrigues dubbed an “insignificant” change to the original plans.
Fields asked about the number of bedrooms and distance from handicapped parking spaces to the accessible apartment, while Robbins asked about traffic flow and landscaping plans.
Rodrigues expressed his frustration, saying that the previous meeting had addressed all these matters and that “the project will be done correctly.”
“We just want to move forward,” said Rodrigues.
As the hearing proceeded, it was determined that lot coverage was within zoning regulations, that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation was handling traffic flow, that parking and sewer was adequate for the planned structures, and that future commercially leased spaces would fall under Building Department and Board of Health oversight. The Planning Board moved to approve the plan modifications.
Earlier in the evening, Bob Field of Field Engineering received approval for his client DG Service Company, 23 County Road, with plans to build an addition to a pre-existing structure. The issue of stormwater drainage systems was reviewed and plans accepted. The project is pending ZBA and Conservation Commission approval.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for March 20 at 7:00 pm in the town hall conference room.
By Marilou Newell