Retail Marijuana Zoning Fails to Pass at Millis Town Meeting

Medical and retail marijuana are coming to Millis, but residents at the May 14 town meeting voted against a proposed zoning bylaw, kicking the cannabis down the road for the November town meeting to decide.
The bylaw would have limited marijuana establishments to one type of zoning—I-P-2, a designation for industrial park zoning—and set minimum boundaries from existing usage areas like playgrounds, libraries, or places of worship. The article garnered 99 votes for and 75 votes against, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for approval.
Millis has set a moratorium on retail marijuana sales until December 2018. If the town does not pass a zoning bylaw before the moratorium expires, then there will be no restrictions on the number and location of marijuana retailers or other establishments in town. If the article had passed, the town would have then developed an overlay district bylaw for presentation at the next town meeting in November. Now, those future town meeting attendees will most likely be deciding a revised zoning bylaw.
Under the proposal, recreational marijuana retailers, would have been prohibited from locating within 1,500 feet of ten specific uses. The non-retail establishments would have had the same stipulations, but with only a 500-foot buffer and without regard to proximity of either a video arcade or residential zoning districts. Neither type of establishment could be located within 500 feet of a school.
The proposed zoning would have allowed for a non-retail marijuana establishment at the former GAF facility at 1073 Main Street. This site is located less than 1,500 feet from both residential zoning and Ryan’s Family Amusements, which falls under the video arcade use.
One business, 617 Therapeutic Health Center, has approached the town about opening a cultivation facility at that location. A second business, CommCan, Inc., is slated to begin construction of a medical and retail shop at 1525 Main Street, just shy of the Medway line.
Residents were concerned about the impact of the proposed 1073 Main Street cultivation site, focusing on both proximity to homes and businesses and the potential nuisance of odor.
Two related articles saw little debate. An article to limit the number of retail marijuana establishments in town was dismissed, as it hinged on the previous article passing. The town did vote unanimously to impose a three-percent local sales tax on marijuana sales for future retailers. This is the maximum percentage allowed under Massachusetts law.
In other notable town meeting news, a citizen’s petition to increase the stipend for the elected Town Clerk, and make the position full time, failed to pass. Town Clerk Lisa Hardin lobbied to increase her stipend from the current $12,000 per year to $90,000 per year, citing the number of hours she works, a benchmark of comparable salaries in other towns, and the fact that Millis is the only town in Massachusetts without a full-time Town Clerk.
An omnibus short-term borrowing plan to fund thirteen capital projects passed unanimously. The items in this plan include auditorium, bathroom, and baseball field upgrades and repairs at the middle/high school, HVAC replacement and repair at the Veterans Memorial Building, and DPW and fire equipment. The nearly $600,000 five-year bond will be repaid beginning in fiscal year 2020.
Most other articles were passed with little debate. The approved Millis budget for fiscal year 2019 is just under $31 million dollars. The town’s budget grew 5.25% from fiscal year 2018. Non-discretionary spending grew over 12 percent, while discretionary spending grew at less than 3 percent.