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12/19/2023 02:18 PMThe Zoning Commission has decided to postpone starting a subcommittee to study retail marijuana in town until after the approved store at 755 Boston Post Road opens. There is no timeline for the store to open at press time.
In early 2023, the Zoning Commission voted to approve an application from BUDR Holding 3 LLC to open a retail marijuana shop at 755 Boston Post Road. The move was controversial to some in town who had concerns about increased traffic, fear of increased crime, and a negative reputation for the town.
In the fall, the commission approved an extension on a mortarium for accepting retail cannabis applications. At that time, commissioners also debated forming a subcommittee to study the impacts of retail marijuana in Westbrook.
However, at the Oct. 23 commission meeting, commission chairman Harry Ruppenicker said that it wouldn’t make sense to form a committee until the store is open.
“Once the store is open, we could have a group of individuals from various groups, whoever they are, get together and form a subcommittee to gauge things like traffic or other effects,” Ruppenicker said.
Ruppenicker said that the last update he had on a proposed opening date for the store was February or March of 2024, though due to the numerous stipulations the applicants must first meet before they open, Ruppenicker said he wouldn’t be surprised to see that opening date pushed back a bit.
The prospect of the retail marijuana store opening in Westbrook has been a source of controversy for over a year.
In July 2022, the Zoning Commission debated new zoning regulations for retail cannabis sales, and the members tried several times to solicit public opinion. That included holding public hearings and conducting a community survey. However, the Zoning Commission received very little feedback on the topic and approved the regulations to allow retail marijuana by special permit in the neighborhood commercial, turnpike interchange, industrial, and light industrial districts with little fanfare.
However, in the fall of 2022, BUDR Holding 3 LLC filed the application to open a retail cannabis store at 755 Boston Post Road, and things changed.
Across two public hearings concerning that application, the vast majority of speakers who came in person were against the application. Social media comments, on the other hand, were more receptive to the application being approved.
Despite the outcry from some citizens, the commission approved the application from BUDR in January. Shortly after that approval, a group of residents filed an appeal of the decision in Middletown Superior Court. That court case is still pending, according to the state’s judicial website.