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03/05/2023 06:15 AMAn appeal has been filed in Middletown Superior Court to try and overturn a recent Old Saybrook Zoning Commission decision that allowed a retail marijuana store to open on Boston Post Road.
At its meeting on Feb. 6, the Zoning Commission approved an application from Fine Fettle Dispensary to open a retail marijuana store at 233 Boston Post Road. The bid to open the store had been a serious source of controversy over the previous six months.
Despite mostly receiving pushback against the application from the public, the commission voted 3-2 to approve the application.
On Feb. 23, a lawsuit was filed seeking to overturn that decision based on allegations that the commission acted “acted illegally, arbitrarily, unreasonably” in approving the application,” according to the complaint.
The complaint was filed by Christopher Cestaro and Strategic Acquisitions -GM, LLC. Cestaro is the owner of Ocean Performance, a boating service center located at 280 Boston Post Road. According to state business registration records, George Mark McCarthy is listed as the principal for Strategic Acquisitions. McCarthy is the owner of Beach Babies Learning Center, a daycare located at 210 Boston Post Road. Previously, McCarthy told the commission he would be filing a lawsuit if they approved the cannabis application.
The lawsuit names the Zoning Commission, Fine Fettle, and Bantry Bay Ventures as defendants.
The complaint argues the commission failed in a number of different ways. Much of the arguments from the complainants center on an argument that the commission did not take into account traffic issues that opponents argued could come into play with a popular business going into the property at 233 Boston Post Road.
Throughout the application’s public hearing, opponents argued that the lack of adequate on-site 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 town’s zoning regulations state in part that “(p)rovision will be made for vehicular access to the lot in such a manner as to avoid undue hazards to traffic or pedestrians and undue traffic congestion on any street.” In the lawsuit, the complainants argued that the commission did not meet that regulation.
The complaint argues the commission failed by not requiring redesigning the intersection as a condition of its approval, that members ignored the opinions from Old Saybrook Police Chief Michael Spera as well as neighbors that the property was unsafe for businesses proposing large customer turnarounds, and ignored testimony that the parking lot would be too small for cars to turn around in safely and customers may try and use neighboring properties to turnaround or park in, thus creating more hazards.
Additionally, the complaint pointed out that a children’s learning center is located only 250 feet away from the proposed shop. The complaint argued that marijuana sales are an inappropriate use for the location, given the center’s proximity.
Furthermore, the plaintiffs argue that three of the commission members at the Feb. 6 meeting were not at the previous meeting where evidence for and against the application was presented. While commission Chairman Robert Friedmann stated he had listened to a recording of the previous meeting, the other absent commission members made no such statement.
The complaint argues that no reasons for approving the application were read into the record while when the previous application was denied the reasons for denial were read into the record.
The complaint is due to be answered by March 28.
The battle over retail marijuana sales in Old Saybrook has been a long and layered saga.
Retail marijuana first appeared as a possibility in town in 2021. That year, 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.
In 2022, Fine Fettle filed a first special exception application to open a cannabis dispensary at 233 Boston Post Road, the site of an earlier medical marijuana approval from different applicants that never came to fruition. In October 2022, that first application was denied, also by a 3-2 vote.
In denying the application last year, the commission’s cited reasons included inadequate employee parking and a potentially high number of visitors that the commissioners 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. The 2018 medical marijuana dispensary proposed to use only half of the building.
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. That lawsuit is still active as of press time, according to the state judicial website.
Despite the denial of the original application and the ongoing appeal, Fettle returned in 2023 with a second, scaled-down proposal. In the second application, Fine Fettle proposed using the same amount of the building that the medical marijuana dispensary was approved for in 2018. The remaining space will be used for storage. The new application also proposed decreasing the number of on-site employees to eight and limiting the number of registers, leading to more available parking spots for customers.
It was that second application that the zoning commission approved on Feb. 6.
The original Fine Fettle application drew substantial feedback from members of the public. The second application was no different with several speakers appearing at both public hearings as well as writing letters to the Zoning Commission. Some letters were in favor of the application, but the overwhelming majority of speakers at the hearings were against the application.
The most commonly cited concerns by opponents were the location of the store and potential road safety hazards created by its opening.
Opponents were additionally concerned that if the store were allowed to open, it could potentially devalue the stores and properties around the dispensary. Some residents spoke of a fear that the store would create a drain on police resources and lead to additional costs to the town, while still more speakers speculated a pot shop could lead to a negative reputation or crime in town.