NORTHFIELD — A temporary moratorium on recreational marijuana facilities proposed by the Planning Board will be the focus of a Thursday public hearing, set for 7 p.m. at Town Hall.
According to Planning Board Chairman Richard Fitzgerald, the bylaw, if approved, would temporarily prohibit recreational marijuana facilities until Dec. 31, 2018. Doing so, he said, gives the Planning Board “a chance to review the final state regulations (when they’re announced in the spring) and decide how to make them work” in Northfield.
Residents are encouraged to provide input at the hearing, before the proposed bylaw revision goes to special town meeting on Dec. 4.
“People feel strongly about a subject like this,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s important to get something in our bylaws before the state starts accepting applications for these businesses.”
The Cannabis Control Commission must issue regulations regarding licensing of commercial marijuana facilities on or before March 15, 2018. Once final regulations are released, Fitzgerald said the Planning Board will work to develop permanent bylaws while eliciting more input from the community.
Fitzgerald also said Northfield doesn’t currently have bylaws regulating medical marijuana establishments, but that the Planning Board hasn’t received any such applications. Adopting medical marijuana bylaws relating to grow facilities “is something we should probably think about,” he said.
Many local towns, including neighboring Bernardston, Greenfield, Shelburne and Conway, have enacted moratoriums on recreational marijuana facilities.
Reach Shelby Ashline at: sashline@recorder.com
413-772-0261 ext. 257