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01/27/2023 10:06 AMA new scaled-down application for a retail marijuana store from the same applicant that the Zoning Commission previously denied will have a continued public hearing on Monday, Feb. 6.
In 2022, Fine Fettle Dispensary filed a special exception application to open a cannabis dispensary at 233 Boston Post Road. At is Oct. 17, 2022, meeting, the Commission deliberated quickly and voted 3-2 to deny the application.
Now, Fine Fettle is back before the Zoning Commission with a scaled-down proposal aimed at addressing the Commission’s concerns as outlined in its denial last year.
In denying the motion last year, the Commission’s cited reasons included inadequate parking for employees and a potentially high number of visitors that the Commission said would be too much for the driveway and local roads to handle. The Commission also cited an increase in proposed operational space. The Fine Fettle application proposed using the entire building. A 2018 approval for a medical marijuana dispensary on the site that never came to fruition approved the use of only half the building.
The applicants were present at a Jan. 18 Zoning Commission meeting to present their new application. According to a statement of use document, the applicants are proposing to use the same amount of the building that the medical marijuana dispensary was approved for in 2018. The remaining space would be used for storage.
The new application also proposes decreasing the number of on-site employees to eight and limiting the number of registers, leading to more available parking spots for customers.
Additionally, the statement of use also stated that the business would operate initially by presale and appointment pick-ups only, with no more than five appointments per 10-minute period. The applicants could apply to change that provision but would need zoning approval for the change.
The location of the business near the intersection of Boston Post Road and Springbrook Road was the most commonly cited concern by those opposed to the previous application. The site is close to I-95, and opponents argued that additional cars coming to the property would increase congestion in an area already prone to near-misses and accidents. Additionally, with a small parking lot for the business, opponents argued that the lack of adequate parking would force more cars in and out of the lot and onto the road.
While decisions on redesigning the intersection of Boston Post Road and Springbrook Road rest on the Department of Transportation, the applicants said they would commit up to $50,000 towards redesigning the road if the state allows it.
The Commission unanimously voted to continue the hearing to Monday, Feb. 6 when more information can be received, and more members of the public can weigh in.
Controversial Application
In 2021, Connecticut legislators passed a bill legalizing recreational marijuana use by adults in the state. The bill left it up to local municipalities to control its sale in each town. In 2022, the zoning commission passed new regulations that effectively banned retail marijuana stores everywhere except for the B-4 district and restricted it to locations that received approval from the town prior to January 2022. Only two locations in Old Saybrook had received such approval, one being the location at 233 Boston Post Road.
The first Fine Fettle application received a tremendous amount of attention. The Commission deliberated on the application for three months, inviting the public to weigh in at hearings in August, September, and October before rendering its denial.
The public hearings over the application drew several speakers and letter writers who were both for and against the application. Those opposed to the application included Old Saybrook Chief of Police Michael Spera and First Selectmen Carl Fortuna.
Following the denial, the applicants filed an appeal of the decision in Middlesex Superior Court in November. The appeal alleges that the Zoning Commission acted arbitrarily in its reasons for denying the first application.
Despite the new application to satisfy past Commission concerns, those opposed to retail marijuana sales were unsatisfied.
Several speakers addressed the Commission at the Jan. 18 meeting, all opposed to the proposed business. Some members of the public wrote letters to the Commission instead of attending the meeting. A majority of those letters were also opposed to the business, but there were some letters in favor of the application. The letters can be read on the Commission’s page on the town website.
George Mark McCarthy, the owner of Beach Babies Learning Center, LLC, told the Commission he was worried if the application were approved, it would cause several issues. The daycare is located close to the proposed business and among the reasons McCarthy was opposed to the store was a fear that it would devalue the properties around it.
McCarthy argued the store would negatively impact his business as most of the parents served by the daycare would not want their children at a daycare near a marijuana store. McCarthy added he was worried that due to the small parking lot at the cannabis shop, people might use the daycare’s parking lot to turn around or park in.
Other speakers voiced concerns over how marijuana sales would affect the perception of the town, fear of increased crime, and the message the store would send to youth.
In response, Amy Souchuns, an attorney for the applicant, pointed out that some of the concerns from the public were over matters already settled.
“There have been a lot of comments of ‘we don’t want this in Old Saybrook.’ This is a legal use allowed under your zoning regulations in this particular location. What’s before you are not whether or not cannabis should be allowed in Old Saybrook. That decision has been made. You allow it as a use in your zoning regulations in two locations,” said Souchuns.
Souchuns also asked that the Commission not consider hypothetical issues and instead focus on whether the application meets the zoning standards.
“I think a lot of what you’ve heard from the public is either a philosophical disagreement about whether cannabis should be legal and whether it should be allowed in Old Saybrook – that answer has been resolved. I think when you look at the criteria that’s actually before you with respect to zoning, again, we have addressed all of those criteria that are site-specific, and are not based on, frankly, speculation and concerns that are unfounded,” Souchuns said.