By Adam Swift
The city is moving closer to possibly allowing the sale of recreational marijuana.
At Monday night’s meeting, the council voted to hold a public hearing on several ordinance changes that would allow for recreational marijuana sales in the city in parts of certain zoning districts.
One ordinance change would allow for the sale of recreational marijuana sales in the city, while another proposed ordinance change submitted by Councillor-at-Large Marc Silvestri would allow for zoning changes to allow the retail marijuana sales in certain districts.
“I do think it is time that we take this leap here in Revere; I think we are missing out on a ton of revenue,” said Silvestri.
Silvestri said he believes the city has been taking the time to get the ordinance right and that it will create an avenue to bring additional revenue to the city.
While the state voted to approve recreational marijuana sales in 2016, Revere was allowed to prohibit the sales by ordinance since the majority of Revere voters rejected the ballot measure.
“In the years since, neighboring communities have reaped the benefits of additional 3% sales tax on marijuana products,” planning director Tom Skwierawski and city policy writer analyst Claire Inzerillo stated in a letter to the council. “Additionally, given the heavy regulation of the industry, these facilities have operated for years without incident, in many ways no different than any other retail store.”
The proposal before the council would allow for marijuana retail establishments by special permit in TED districts and in certain areas of GB and HB (general business and highway business) districts.
At Monday night’s meeting, Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelley raised concerns about the inclusion of the southern side of Squire Road in the district near residential neighborhoods. Silvestri noted that the planning department was revising the ordinance so there would be a smaller district on that side of Squire Road.
Kelley also said she would like to possibly see a larger buffer zone for the marijuana facilities, and raised questions about the notification process for abutters during the special permit process.
“The particular zones are something we anticipate the Council will want to weigh in on heavily, but they were created as a starting point in this conversation,” Skwierawski and Inzerillo noted in the letter to the council. “Further, the special permit process … establishes a 300-foot buffer for all Marijuana Establishments from schools, childcare facilities, libraries, playgrounds, public parks, etc. This buffer can be reduced with a waiver from the City Council, but provides a measure of control to ensure adequate protections are made to prevent diversion to minors and, generally, to ensure the facility is otherwise adequately buffered from any perceived negative impacts.”
At Monday night’s council meeting, Skwierawski said the city is looking to set the number of retail licenses at three, or 20 percent of the package store licenses allowed by the city. He said he also expects further discussion on a provision for social equity licenses for the establishments in the city.
The public hearing is scheduled for the council’s meeting on Monday, Sept. 23.
