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Cannabis Regulations Under Review

Zoning regulations for the sale of cannabis are under review by the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) as the Town’s moratorium on applications for dispensaries approaches next month.

The PZC officially received a draft text amendment at a public meeting on Feb. 1, which is an overview of the various legal zoning and building procedures for establishing an “Adult Use Cannabis Retail District.” If adopted, the amendment would make retail sales of recreational or hybrid cannabis products — the latter referring to those intended for medical purposes — legal in East Haven.

According to Zoning Enforcement Officer (ZEO) Joe Budrow, a “district” refers to a single cannabis dispensary intended for recreational or hybrid sales.

The opening clause of the amendment, section 11.9.1, explains the overall purpose of the amendment’s governance of districts to “minimize any impacts such businesses may have on residential neighborhoods and commercial districts and property values and to protect and preserve East Haven’s quality of life and the health, safety, and welfare of its residents, property owners, and visitors to the town.”

Budrow said the Commission wanted to keep districts away from Main Street and would only be permissible for zoning along Frontage Road and Foxon Road. Maintaining distance from residential areas and other commercial establishments was considered by the PZC to accommodate high numbers of customers that may visit cannabis facilities.

“We wanted that properties that could potentially have these uses to be large enough to be able to handle excess parking,” Budrow said. “We wanted to, at least at this time, start out with a 1.5-acre minimum, and those two corridors were the most optimum to start with.”

The amendment limits the number of establishments in East Haven to two. According to Budrow, these can either be two dispensaries intended for recreational sales, two for hybrid uses, or one of each.

“The Commission, after thinking of all other uses, like transporters cultivators - they were nervous to go all in, so they are, at this time, only allowing two retailers, maximum,” said Budrow.

The language of the amendment makes no mention of the cultivation of cannabis plants within the Town’s jurisdiction and so would not be permissible, accordingly. The decision not to include language on cultivation on any scale was another example of PZC assuming a gradual approach to the introduction of retail cannabis.

“The door is open in the future, but this is how they wanted to start,” Budrow said.

Section 11.9.1 relates to the proximity laws of districts in section 11.9.3.3, elucidating the legal distance permissible between dispensaries, residential properties, and other establishments. The clause states “the shortest total horizontal distance that can be measured” between a hypothetical facility and a single-family or two-family dwelling is 200 feet. The minimum distance between that facility and numerous other non-resident properties is greater at 750 feet. Those non-residential spaces include municipal buildings, public or private education facilities, parks and playgrounds, places of worship, and another cannabis dispensary that may open for business.

The measurement regulations governing potential facilities were mirrored off the Town’s zoning regulations of retail liquor establishments, according to Budrow.

Budrow said these proximity laws could be altered by the date of the amendment’s adoption, which was planned to be on Wednesday, March 1, as they inspected more closely space along the routes of Frontage and Foxon. The standing measurements may “shrink the number of properties that could” provide space for a cannabis facility, limiting them “through the entire corridor” of either of the two permitted routes for facilities. Additionally, if space along those roads is available, they may only be able to fit on smaller parcels of land.

“We’ll see if it’s too extensive or limiting,” he said. “Maybe we’ll shrink 750 down to 500, or maybe we’ll eliminate a use because it’s hard to regulate.”

The ZEO said these laws could also amount to complications across jurisdictions, considering Frontage’s route into New Haven.

“We may have to loosen up on that one. What happens if there’s an established use, and then a daycare pops up 400 feet away? Are we supposed to say no to the daycare? So, we’ll hammer that one out by March 1.

Budrow said a second review of the text amendment would most likely take place on March 1, at which the PZC may decide to adopt the amendment and implement it as a part of Town Zoning Regulations. If adopted, March 1 would be the “effective date” in officiating the legal language into the Town’s code, assuming no appeals, according to the ZEO. While the moratorium on applicants is set to expire on March 31, Budrow said adoption of the amendment would then “set a condition that the moratorium is over” in East Haven.

“We were covering our bases in case there was a little delay somewhere, which there hasn’t been,” said Budrow.