Edible Manufacturing Application to Get April 22 Hearing
A new application from a marijuana edible manufacturing business approved by the Zoning Commission last year will be heard at a public hearing on April 22. The hearing, which starts at 7 p.m. at town hall, concerns a proposal to add a second building to the property.
Last summer, the Westbrook Zoning Commission unanimously approved Emerald Canning Partners LLC and Adams Avenue Asset Management’s application to open a cannabis food manufacturing business at 1244 Old Clinton Road.
At the March 25 Zoning Commission meeting, the commission accepted a new application from the applicants to construct a second building on the site to allow for the manufacturing process.
Per the application, the proposed building will be about 3,072 square feet.
“In addition to the new building the site plan illustrates a proposed expansion of the site parking layout, the addition of a handicapped ramp, the addition of a series of catch basins and associated drainage pipes including a proposed CULTEC stormwater treatment system,” the application states.
The proposed business would be for the manufacturing of marijuana edibles and chocolates. There would not be any retail or consumption of the products on site, just the manufacturing of the edibles.
The application states that the business intends to operate on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will have a comprehensive security system on site. Deliveries will be made twice a week in sprinter vans.
Unlike the since rescinded retail marijuana dispensary application the commission initially approved last year, the approval process for the edible manufacturing business did not meet any significant pushback from the public.
Whereas the retail application was proposed for the Neighborhood Commercial District, which bordered beach communities, the property on Old Clinton Road is in the industrial zone. Additionally, with no retail aspect to the application, there would be less proposed traffic in the area.
At the public hearings last year over the initial application, no members of the public said they were outright against the application, but several speakers who live in the vicinity of the proposed business asked that the applicant make the lighting plan on the property as non-intrusive as possible so that the quality of life of people and animals in the area are safe.
According to the initial application received by the commission, Adams Avenue Asset Management is the contracted purchaser of the property, with affiliate Emerald Canning Partners LLC intending to operate the proposed business. The application lists a mailing address in Boston for the business.