HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-PB-ATM-rpt (Article 43 Recommendation) Town of Lexington
X04 '`\° ,. PLANNING BOARD
} 1625 Massachusetts Avenue 1!;8 s 3 PM 3: 14Richard L.Canale,Chair
I! 0 Lexington,MA 02420 Ginna Johnson,Vice-Chair
{�t Tel(781)698-4560 T t Bob Creech,Clerk
planning(cr�,lexingtonma.gov LE:. •.z 4_;. A Nancy Corcoran-Ronchetti
APRIL t9
L ktNG.r , •., www.lexingtonma.gov/planning Charles Hornig
Michael Leon,Associate
RECOMMENDATION REPORT
ARTICLE 43 —AMEND MARIJUANA RULES
RECOMMENDATION
This report was unanimously accepted by a vote of the Planning Board March 14, 2018.
At its meeting of January 31, 2018, the Planning Board unanimously voted to recommend
DISAPPROVAL of the motion, dated January 31, 2018, included by the proponent under
Article 43.
BACKGROUND
The issues around the legalization of marijuana in Massachusetts, first medicinal in 2013,
followed by recreational in 2016, continue to require municipal action to appropriately regulate it
at the local level. At the moment, the Zoning Bylaw permits medical marijuana to be grown,
processed, or sold in the CM commercial district(principally along Hartwell Avenue); at present,
there are no medicinal marijuana uses in Lexington. Recreational marijuana uses are prohibited
under a General Bylaw. Recreational uses are also prohibited under a zoning moratorium, which
is set to expire at the end of 2018. As these measures were adopted before the Commonwealth
permitted recreational uses to open, there are no recreational operations in Lexington.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts continues to revise the regulatory structure of these newly
legalized activities, most significantly by removing the Department of Public Health and
assigning responsibility to a new state agency, the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC). At the
time of this report, the CCC has yet to complete its rulemaking process.
SUMMARY OF THE MOTION
The proposed motion under Article 43 calls for the following changes:
1. Eliminate the moratorium on recreational marijuana uses.
2. Allow marijuana cultivation and processing by right in all commercial districts and the
governmental-civic district, and by special permit in all residential districts.
3. Insert 17 new definitions pertaining to the regulated use of marijuana, many applicable to
both recreational and medicinal marijuana.
PUBLIC PROCESS
As required by State law, the Planning Board held a public hearing for this petition on January
31, 2018. After discussion, the Board determined ithad received all the necessary information to
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Planning Board Recommendation Report
Article 43—Amend Marijuana Rules
Page 2 of 2
deliberate on the proposed motion and voted to close the hearing. The Board understands that
the proponent of the article also made a presentation to the Board of Selectmen at its meeting of
January 28, 2018.
The proponent of the article is expected to present to the TMMA Information Meeting on March
21, 2018.
CONCLUSION
While the Board disagrees with most of the details of the proponent's motion, it does share a
desire to ensure that Lexington's local bylaws are consistent and compatible with the States rules.
Even that, however, seems premature given that those rules are not yet completed and there is no
compelling need to act at this time.
Beyond this, it is difficult to believe that Town Meeting would be willing to completely reverse
itself on these issues given that Town Meeting adopted the current rules less than six months
ago.
While future amendments may be required, the Board is confident that the local rules currently in
place will satisfactorily achieve the Town's policies for the immediate future. The Planning
Office and Town Counsel are keeping up with the actions of the Commonwealth and will bring
any suggested amendments to the Board of Selectmen and Planning Board at the appropriate
time.
RECORD OF VOTES
Signatures of a majority of the Board,
Richard L. Canale, Chair Nancy Corcoran-Ronchetti
Ginna Johnson,Vice-Chair Charles Hornig
Bob Creech, Clerk