Town of Townsend, MA Recreational Marijuana

To provide for the placement of marijuana establishments in appropriate places and under conditions in accordance with the provisions of MGL c. 94G.

To minimize the adverse impacts of marijuana establishments on residential neighborhoods, schools, and other places where children commonly congregate.

To regulate the siting, design, placement, security, safety, monitoring, and modification of marijuana establishments.

(2)

Location.

Marijuana establishments will only be located in the following Zoning Districts: Downtown Commercial, Outlying Commercial and Industrial.

(3)

Applicability.

No marijuana establishment shall be established except in compliance with the provisions of Article XVIII.

Where not expressly defined in § 145-90, all terms used herein shall be as defined in MGL c. 94G and 935 CMR 500 et seq.

If any provision of this section, or the application of any such provision to any person or circumstance, shall be held invalid, the remainder of this section, to the extent it can be given effect, or the application of those provisions to persons or circumstances other than those to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby, and to this end the provisions of this section are severable.

(4)

Special permit approval criteria.

All marijuana establishments shall be contained within a building or structure.

The hours of operation of marijuana establishments shall be set by the special permit granting authority, which shall be the Planning Board.

Marijuana establishments shall not be located within a 500-foot radius from:

Any residential district;

Any school pre-k through 12;

Any daycare center, or any facility where children commonly congregate. A facility is not, however, limited to a building. A "facility where children commonly congregate" includes, but is not limited to facilities in which children gather for a particular purposes in a structured and scheduled manner, or which are dedicated to the use by children, such as playgrounds, youth service programs, day care centers, youth sports facilities, dance schools, and gymnastic schools;

Any other marijuana establishment;

Any drug or alcohol rehabilitation facility;

[6]

Any correctional facility, half-way house or similar facility; or

[7]

Any establishment licensed under the provisions of MGL c. 138, § 12 (Licenses for on premise alcoholic beverages).

Distances calculated pursuant to Subsection D(4)(c)[1] and [2] will be measured from property line to property line. Distances calculated pursuant to Subsection D(4)(c)[3] through [7] will be measured in a straight line from the nearest point of the facility in question to the nearest point of the proposed marijuana establishment. For example, a playground outside a school would be considered a facility where children congregate, so the line would be measured from the edge of the playground to the nearest point of the building that would house the potential Marijuana Establishment.

(d)

The onsite consumption of marijuana at all marijuana establishments is prohibited in the Town of Townsend.

(e)

Consistent with MGL c. 94G, § 3(b)(2), the maximum number of Marijuana Establishments in the Town of Townsend shall be limited as follows:

Shall not prohibit one or more types of marijuana establishment.

The number of marijuana retailers shall not exceed twenty (20%) percent of liquor licenses issued pursuant to M.G.L. c. 138, § 15 for retail sale of alcohol not consumed on the premises in the Town of Townsend. Said number to be rounded up to the next whole number.

The number of non-retail marijuana establishments shall be limited to one.

(f)

No smoking or consumption of any product containing marijuana or marijuana-related products shall be permitted on the premises of a marijuana establishment. No burning of any product containing marijuana or marijuana-related products shall be permitted on the premises of a marijuana establishment with the exception of product testing performed at a marijuana testing facility or marijuana research facility.

(g)

No marijuana establishment shall be located inside a building containing residential units, including transient housing such as motels and dormitories.

(h)

Marijuana establishments shall be located within a permanent building and may not be located in a trailer, cargo container, motor vehicle or other similar nonpermanent enclosure.

(i)

Marijuana establishments shall not have drive-through service.

(j)

No outside storage of marijuana, related supplies or promotional materials is permitted.

(k)

No delivery service of marijuana products for personal purposes are permitted from any marijuana establishment.

(l)

All marijuana establishments shall be ventilated in such a manner that:

If pesticides, insecticides, or other chemicals or products are used in cultivation or processing, they must be vented and dispersed into the outside atmosphere so as not to be detectible at any adjoining use or property.

No odor from marijuana can be detected by a person with a normal sense of smell at the exterior of the marijuana establishment or at any adjoining use or property.

(5)

Special permit conditions.

In addition to compliance with M.G.L. c. 94G and 935 CMR 500 et seq., the special permit granting authority may impose reasonable conditions to improve site design, traffic flow, and public safety, and to preserve water quality, significant environmental resources and community character of surrounding area including, without limitation, the following:

Minimization of the impacts of increased noise and traffic.

Imposition of security precautions to protect personnel, consumers, residents and property.

Deterring the presence of unauthorized or ineligible persons at, or near the marijuana establishment.

Imposition of measures to prevent diversion of marijuana and marijuana products.

Conditions related to the design and construction of the facility to improve safety, security and conformance with community character.

[6]

Conditions relating to energy efficiency and conservation.

A marijuana establishment shall only be allowed by special permit from the Planning Board, the special permit granting authority, in accordance with MGL c. 40A, § 9 and § 145-65 (Special permits) of this chapter.

No special permit for any marijuana establishment shall be issued without major site plan approval having been obtained from the Planning Board pursuant to § 145-42, Site plan review special permit, of this chapter. In addition to the standards set forth therein, the site plan must meet all dimensional, parking, landscaping, and signage requirements within this chapter.

(d)

A special permit for a marijuana establishment shall be limited to one or more of the following uses that shall be prescribed by the special permit granting authority:

Marijuana cultivator.

Craft marijuana cooperative.

Marijuana product manufacturer.

Marijuana research facility.

Marijuana testing facility.

[6]

Marijuana transportation or distribution facility.

[7]

Marijuana retailer.

(e)

In addition to the application requirements set forth above, a special permit application for a marijuana establishment shall include the following:

The name and address of owner(s) of the establishment;

Copies of all required licenses and permits issued to the applicant by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission and any of its other agencies for the establishment; provided that approval may be conditioned upon receipt of a final license from the CCC;

Evidence of the applicant's right to use the site of the establishment for the establishment, such as a purchase and sale agreement, deed, owner's authorization, or lease;

A letter from the Town of Townsend Police Chief, or designee, acknowledging review and approval of the Marijuana Establishment security plan;

All application requirements for major site plan review as specified in Section 145-57 - 145-61 of this Chapter[2] unless certain non-applicable requirements are waived by the Planning Board.

Editor's Note: So in original.

(f)

The SPGA shall include conditions concerning the following in any special permit granted pursuant to this article:

Hours of operation.

Compliance with Host Community Agreement.

The submission of a copy of the license from the CCC with the SPGA and the Building Commissioner prior to commencement of operation.

(g)

The issuance of a special permit shall lapse two years from the date of the issue if not acted upon.

(h)

Mandatory findings. The special permit granting authority shall not issue a special permit for a marijuana establishment unless it finds that:

The facility is designed to minimize any adverse impacts on abutters and other parties in interest, as defined in MGL c. 40A, § 11;

The applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the special permit granting authority that it will meet all the permitting requirements of all applicable agencies within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and will comply with all applicable state laws and regulations; and

The applicant has satisfied all of the conditions and requirements set forth herein.

(i)

A special permit granted under this section shall have a term limited to the duration of the applicant's ownership or lease of the premises as a marijuana establishment. A special permit may be transferred only with the approval of the special permit granting authority in the form of an amendment to the special permit with all information required by the special permit granting authority.

(6)

Abandonment or discontinuance of use.

A special permit shall lapse if a final license has not been issued by the CCC pursuant to CMR 500.103 within one year of issuance. The Planning Board may grant an extension if the applicant demonstrates that, despite diligent effort, circumstances beyond their control have prevented the issuance of a final license and further demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Planning Board that issuance of a final license is forthcoming.

A marijuana establishment shall be required to remove all material, plants, products, equipment and other paraphernalia within six months of ceasing operations. All security measures and precautions, and all components of the marijuana establishment security plan, shall be observed until removal is completed.