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M <br /> THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS <br /> W <br /> l o OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL <br /> w CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS DIVISION <br /> 4 h� <br /> 10 MECHANIC STREET, SUITE 301 <br /> 9,y s�ev <br /> WORCESTER, MA 01608 <br /> MARTHA C.OAKLEY <br /> ATTORNEY GENERAL (508)792-7600 <br /> (508)795-1991 fax <br /> www.mass. ov/ago <br /> September 25, 2013 <br /> Donna M. Hooper, Town Clerk <br /> Town of Lexington <br /> 1625 Massachusetts Ave. <br /> Lexington, MA 02421 <br /> RE: Lexington Special Town Meeting of June 17,2013 - Case#6849 <br /> Warrant Article# 4 (Zoning) <br /> Dear Ms. Hooper: <br /> Article 4— We approve the amendments to the Lexington by-laws adopted under Article <br /> 4 at the June 17, 2013 Special Town Meeting. Our comments on Article 4 are detailed below. <br /> Article 4 amends the Town's Zoning Bylaw to add a definition for Medical Marijuana <br /> Treatment Center (to be known as a registered marijuana dispensary, consistent with 105 CMR <br /> 725.004). Article 4 also adds a new Section 6.10, Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers, which <br /> imposes a temporary moratorium through July 31, 2014 on the use of land or structures for such <br /> centers. Section 6.10.1 establishes the purpose of the temporary moratorium as follows: <br /> Medical marijuana raises novel and complex planning, land use, public safety, <br /> and legal issues. A moratorium on the use of land and structures for a Medical <br /> Marijuana Treatment Center will allow the Town sufficient time to engage in a <br /> planning process to address the effects of this new land use and to enact <br /> subsequent local by-laws and regulations. <br /> We approve the temporary moratorium because it is consistent with the Town's authority <br /> to "impose reasonable time limitations on development, at least where those restrictions are <br /> temporary and adopted to provide controlled development while the municipality engages in <br /> comprehensive planning studies." Sturges v. Chilmark, 380 Mass. 246, 252-253 (1980). Such a <br /> temporary moratorium is clearly within the Town's zoning power when the stated intent is to <br /> manage a new use, such as a registered marijuana dispensary and related uses, and there is a <br /> stated need for"study, reflection and decision on a subject matter of[some] complexity..." W.R. <br /> Grace v. Cambridge City Council, 56 Mass. App. Ct. 559, 569 (2002) (City's temporary <br /> 1 <br />