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02/12/2023 08:35 AMA recent Zoning Commission decision to allow a retail marijuana store to open on Boston Post Road is heading for appeal. Residents have filed an appeal with Middletown Superior Court in hopes of overturning the decision.
The Commission approved an application from BUDR Holding 3 LLC to open a retail cannabis store at 755 Boston Post Road in January. The application first appeared before the Commission in November 2022 and faced a series of public hearings in December 2022 and January. The application was approved last month with several conditions.
While the proposal passed the Commission by a 4-1 vote, some residents in opposition to the application aren’t going away without a fight.
On Feb. 6, a group of residents filed an appeal of the decision in Middletown Superior Court, according to the state’s judicial website.
The suit was filed by a group of property owners, including Jack Zamary, David Russell, Jay Mulligan, Vincent Catelotti, Lynne Catelotti, and Peter Jaquay. The complaint lists BURD Holding 3 LLC co/ Derrick Gibbs, 7555 Boston Post Road LLC, and the Town of Westbrook Zoning Commission as defendants.
The property owner is listed as 755 Boston Post Rd LLC, and Nancy Pytlik owns the LLC, and the listed agent is George Pytlik. George Pytlik, Jr., an alternate member of the Zoning Commission, has familial connections to the LLC’s ownership but is not directly affiliated with it. Pytlik, Jr., has not been seated during discussions on the application.
Pytlik, Jr. did vote to approve the regulations that allowed cannabis retail in Westbrook during the summer of 2022, but no application for a store was present at that time.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that the Commission “acted illegally, arbitrarily, unreasonably” in approving the application. The complaint contends the Commission ignored a lack of needed loading and unloading space on the property, failed to account for adequate parking on the site, and failed to take into consideration a traffic report that listed minimum sight lines from the property well below what the Commission stated. Additionally, the suit alleges that the number of trips generated by the store will be above what the zoning district calls for and that the Commission failed to take into consideration that the traffic report submitted in December admitted that “useful counts of actual traffic could not be obtained in the limited time frame.”
Following the approval, some members of the community were curious about when the store could potentially open for business.
Town Planner Peter Gillespie said the appeal would likely impact potential opening day plans. Even without the appeal, Gillespie said that the applicants must go through the state licensing process, which can take some time, and make the required landscaping upgrades to the property.
In regards to any effects the appeal would have on the timing of the business opening, Gillespie said, “… most cases, an applicant would wait while the lawsuit plays out, otherwise they would be proceeding at their own risk and spending money to make improvements while they have a lawsuit hanging over their head. That will be up to the applicant to decide how they want to proceed.”
Though the Zoning Commission approved the application, it did place several conditions on approval.
The most serious of the conditions prohibit deliveries between the hours of 6:30 to 8:15 a.m., as well as between the hours of 2:30 and 3:45 p.m., Aug. 23 through June 20, Monday through Friday, and limited the business to operate by appointment only for at least the first three months. Other conditions related to redefining parking spaces, preventing people from using the parking lot for the neighboring food truck, and fixing the property’s landscaping.
Additionally, Zoning Enforcement Officer Steve Hnatuk explained following the Commission’s approval that, a positive referral from the Planning Commission was not required due to the application being a special permit application.
“A Planning Commission approval or finding of consistency with the POCD [Plan of Conservation and Development] is not required for a special permit application by [Connecticut General Statutes (CGS)]. A referral of the special permit was sent to the Planning Commission because of the requirement in the town’s zoning regulations,” Hnatuk said at the time.
“An affirmative vote/recommendation or finding of consistency with the POCD is not required by CGS or by the town’s zoning regulations for special permits. The town’s regulations state that ‘[o]n a special permit application, the Commission shall give due consideration to any report received from the Planning Commission.’ In the motion made and approved by the Zoning Commission, the Zoning Commission acknowledged the report and made a finding in part, based on the report,” Hnatuk continued.
The filing of the appeal is the latest step in what has been a long story regarding marijuana retail in Westbrook.
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 July 2022, Westbrook’s Zoning Commission approved regulations that allowed retail marijuana stores by special permit in the neighborhood commercial, turnpike interchange, industrial, and light industrial districts.
Despite several attempts to solicit public opinion, including public hearings and a community survey, the Zoning Commission received little feedback on the topic.
Once the BUDR application was filed, however, the public interest increased.
Across the two public hearings concerning the application, the vast majority of speakers were against the application. Residents voiced concerns about increased traffic, fear of increased crime, and a negative reputation for the town.
Other reasons for the opposition focused on the proposed shop’s location near residential areas and a bus stop, which people feared would be impacted by the shop’s presence.
Concerned residents created the website westbrookcitizens.com, which outlined why some oppose the application. The website also links to a petition urging the Zoning Commission to reject the application. At press time, the petition had over 250 signatures.
Following the vote to approve the application on Jan. 23, some residents cried out and expressed displeasure with the Commission.