WESTBROOK

An application has been filed to build a retail cannabis store at 144 Boston Post Road. The Zoning Commission will open a public hearing over the application at its August meeting.

Once again, the Westbrook Zoning Commission is set to hear arguments over a potential retail marijuana store. At a meeting on June 26, the commission accepted an application for a new retail pot shop from 144 BPR LLC. The state’s business registry lists Samuel Lyman as the principal of the LLC.

The commission voted to open a public hearing over the application at its August meeting.

According to the application, the site is currently used as an RV and camping supply store. Under the proposed plan, “The applicant is proposing the removal of an existing propane storage tank, relocate the trash dumpster, a proposed concrete pad for a generator, and the addition of six parking spots per the ‘Proposed Site Plan.’ There will be no modifications to the footprint of the building.”

The application also states that the retail area will occupy 1,920 square feet and will feature a comprehensive security system. All product will be prepackaged, and no consumption will be allowed on the property.

The store will take prescheduled customers who made their orders online and walk-in customers. IDs will be checked on-site before purchase is allowed.

As for delivery times, the application states, “The delivery of products will occur one to four times per week depending on volume between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to the best of the applicant’s ability. Per the Department of Consumer Protection, deliveries are mandated to be randomized for security purposes; thus, the applicant can’t guarantee a delivery will occur during the prohibited time of year and hours as stipulated…”.

The proposed site for this application is not far from another already approved retail marijuana store in Westbrook. In January 2023, the commission approved an application from BUDR Holding 3 LLC to open a retail cannabis store at 755 Boston Post Road. According to town zoning regulations, any retail cannabis store must be located more than 5,000 feet from another cannabis retailer in town. The BPR application would exceed the requirement by 755 feet.

When the state legislature first legalized marijuana retail in 2021, there was a population cap that would have limited Westbrook to only one store for the whole town. However, Westbrook Zoning Enforcement Officer Steve Hnatuk explained that rule was no longer in effect.

“There is no population-based cap for the number of retailers or micro-cultivators a town may have. Section 9 of Public Act 22-103 removed the population cap for the number of retailers and micro-cultivators in a municipality initially included in Section 148 of Public Act 21-1,” Hnatuk said, adding the new application would not affect the previous BUDR approval.

Additionally, a proposed temporary moratorium on receiving or reviewing retail pot applications that the commission may enact later this month would not affect the BPR application.

Hnatuk explained, “The moratorium will have no effect on the new application. The moratorium has not yet been approved and is not effective at the time of application for cannabis retailers. The retailer is entitled to apply under the current regulations, and should the moratorium be approved prior to the cannabis retailer, it will not have any effect on the retailer application since it was submitted prior to any potential effective date,” Hnatuk said.

However, there may be some hurdles for BPR to get approved. The previous applicant faced tremendous backlash to its application when it was before the Zoning Commission. The vast majority of speakers at public hearings were against the application, with residents voicing concerns about increased traffic, fear of increased crime, and a potential negative reputation for the town.

While most actual speakers at the public hearings have been against the application, social media comments were more favorable to that application.

Both the previously approved application and the new proposed store would be located in the Neighborhood Commercial District (NCD). Several residents of the NCD have been vocally opposed to marijuana sales in the NCD.

Following the approval of the BUDR application in January, a group of NCD residents filed an appeal of the decision in Middletown Superior Court.

The lawsuit is ongoing, according to the state judicial website. It is safe to assume the BPR application will inspire some pushback as well when the public hearing opens next month.