MONTAGUE — A new marijuana grower, Flower Power Growers, is beginning its permitting process with the town next week. If approved, Flower Power could be the third marijuana company to come to Montague, with one having opened in 2019 and another currently in progress of opening.
The land the company would move into is a 100,000 square foot property in the industrial park — the area that includes the Turners Falls Airport, several large industrial facilities and the Franklin County Technical School.
Flower Power proposes to build a complex of three greenhouses and two warehouse-like buildings, where it will mostly cultivate marijuana and manufacture marijuana products.
Rules regarding impacts on nearby businesses or residential areas — or the proximity to a school — are addressed in the company’s plans, and are not likely to cause legal roadblocks, according to Montague Town Planner Walter Ramsey.
The property — a forested, undeveloped lot at the north end of the industrial park — is now owned by the town. A sales agreement was signed in August, Ramsey said, with the final sale contingent on approval of legal permits from the town and state. The sale price is $157,500.
The town committees involved with the project are the Selectboard and Economic Development and Industrial Corporation, which both must approve the sale of the land; and the Planning Board, which is reviewing the site plan and considering a special permit.
The hearing for the special permit will be this Tuesday, at 6:30 p.m. Information to access the meeting online is on montague-ma.gov, in the calendar of public meetings. Members of the public are encouraged to ask questions or make comments, according to the meeting notice.
The Selectboard is also expected to discuss issues related to the sale in its meeting Monday, although the final sale still won’t be made until after permits have been finalized.
Public hearings in Montague most often only take one day, Ramsey said, so it is not likely that the Planning Board hearing on Tuesday will continue into future meetings. However, the option to continue is available in case more information is required for the board to make a decision.
The major issues in the permitting of the business likely will have to do with potential impacts on the land and other places in the area, such as other businesses, nearby residential areas and the Technical School.
The proximity to the school probably is not a problem, however. Legally, a marijuana business must be at least 300 feet away from any school, Ramsey said. The proposed site of Flower Power is about 1,000 feet from the Technical School.
It is also relevant that Flower Power is not selling marijuana onsite, only growing it. And, the business must follow security guidelines specific to marijuana companies, per the state Cannabis Control Commission.
Otherwise, the big issues addressed in the application materials are light pollution, stormwater management and odor control. In all three cases, it is most likely that the solutions proposed in the application will be satisfactory, Ramsey said.
The company proposes to mitigate marijuana odors by facing the building’s exhaust fans toward the river and forest, away from nearby buildings. Light pollution is addressed with outdoor lamps that face downward and are designed to minimize light shining up and out, and with windows designed to block all light when they are closed.
The stormwater management plan makes up the bulk of the application papers. Because the industrial park is heavily wooded and close to the Connecticut River, the town’s permitting requirements are stronger there than in other areas of town, Ramsey said.
“It’s a higher threshold than other places in town, just because of the nature of the area,” he said.
Further information on Flower Power and its outlook for developing the property was not available. Principal members of the company could not be reached for comment this week.
If approved, Flower Power will likely be the third marijuana company in Montague. The first was 253 Farmacy, a retailer and grower that is also situated in the industrial park; 253 opened in September 2019.
The second will probably be Greenhouse Cannabis Group, a company that is seeking to be one of the first marijuana delivery services in Massachusetts. Greenhouse’s location in Millers Falls is only an office space, with no products or cash onsite. The company is now negotiating a host community agreement with the Montague Selectboard, and has said that it aims to be operational by the end of 2020.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.