The group applying to operate an adult use marijuana facility in Watertown will host a community meeting to provide information about the facility to the public, and to get input.
The meeting will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019 in the Third Floor Conference Room in Town Hall at 6:30 p.m.
Natural Selections, applying as NS AJO Holdings Inc., has already been approved to run a medical marijuana facility at 23 Elm St. in Watertown, and now seeks to also sell for adult use (also called recreational use).
To be approved, the applicants must get a special permit approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Town Council must agree to a host community agreement and the state’s Cannabis Control Commission must approve it.
The following information was provided by the Town of Watertown:
NOTICE OF COMMUNITY MEETING:
PROPOSAL OF NS AJO HOLDINGS INC. d/b/a NATURAL SELECTIONS FOR AN ADULT USE MARIJUANA RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT 23 ELM STREET, BUILDING 2
August 21, 2019
Watertown Town Hall, 149 Main Street
Third Floor Conference Room
6:30 p.m.
Members of the public are encouraged to attend the Meeting at which Natural Selections will outline its proposal to apply for an Adult Use Marijuana Retail Establishment license at 23 Elm Street, Building 2 (the “Property”) pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 94G and Chapter 55 of the Acts of 2017, and other applicable laws and regulations promulgated thereunder, including those promulgated by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission.
Information presented at the Community Outreach Meeting will include, but not be limited to, the following:
- The type of Marijuana Establishment to be located at the Property;
- Information adequate to demonstrate that the proposed Marijuana Establishment location will be maintained securely;
- Steps to be taken by the Marijuana Establishment to prevent diversion to minors;
- A plan by the Marijuana Establishment to positively impact the community; and
- Information adequate to demonstrate that the location will not constitute a nuisance to the community by noise, odor, dust, glare, fumes, vibration, heat, or other conditions likely to cause nuisance.
See the documents submitted to the town in the Project Folder: https://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/Index/1724
Members of the Watertown community will be encouraged to ask questions and to engage in discussions with representatives of Natural Selections.
How about putting it in Town Hall itself? This way the facility need not mail in the taxes from pot sales, they can just walk up a flight of stairs and pay up.
They’re putting them in everywhere. Why not Watertown so we can benefit from the tax revenues? They’re not drug addicts coming to Watertown.
We voted for it so get a pot shop open asap and stop loosing tax dollars. Voting was the community input.
A smart approach will be to evaluate other communities that have an adult use marijuana facility operational for at least two years. Then weigh the benefits vs the negative impact to the town from such an operation. If the benefits truly outweigh any negative impact, then there is a good argument for it; if not, let’s not be foolish.
From what I understand about the adult use (recreational) marijuana law passed by voters, communities cannot completely reject all such facilities. They can limit the number (which Watertown has to 3) based on the population, and change zoning to only allow them in certain areas. This was also done. They must be 500 ft. from a K-12 school, park or another marijuana facility.