WHATELY — Before again seeking site plan review and special permit approval from the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, Greenjeans Farms must revise its application to operate a marijuana cultivation facility at Long Plain Farm.
Greenjeans Farms is applying for a variance to use several greenhouses at Long Plain Farm, located at 149 Christian Lane — 530 feet from Whately Elementary School’s property line and 1,000 feet from the building itself — but the ZBA said the company needs to come up with a plan that does not include a variance.
“Our board has been historically strict on variances,” said ZBA Chair Roger Lipton at Nov. 4’s meeting. “Anything you can do to avoid a vote on a variance would probably be in your interest.”
Greenjeans Farms plans to use several existing greenhouses on the property, but parts of those structures sit inside the 50-foot setback required for marijuana facilities in the zoning bylaws. To get around this, the company has proposed blocking off those sections of the greenhouses.
“What if we can just not use a portion of the greenhouses?” asked Tom Reidy, a Bacon Wilson attorney representing Greenjeans Farms. “We won’t be violating the setback at that point because there would be no use in that area.”
ZBA member Robert Smith asked how the company plans to block off portions of greenhouses outside the setback, to which Reidy said he will return with a revision.
“We can come back with a detailed plan showing what that would be,” Reidy replied. “If there is a sense from the board of what they want to see … we can take a look at a previous application.”
The company also seeks to shift another greenhouse from outside the setback, while also reconstructing another greenhouse that was destroyed in December 2018, for a total of five greenhouses on the property.
The ZBA also received a public comment asking for more detailed labels on the application. Another resident asked for an explanation of how the security camera system will function.
As the ZBA considered all the questions it had — and the fact that Greenjeans Farms will appear before the Planning Board again on Nov. 30 — the board compiled a list of requests for its Dec. 2 meeting: a narrative of the old greenhouse and why it should be rebuilt; better labeling on distances of a revised plan, which doesn’t include a variance request; a proposal of how the greenhouses will be blocked off; and an explanation of privacy with security cameras.
Lipton said the emerging cannabis industry is bringing new questions to the board at every meeting and members need to consider things carefully. He added the Planning Board’s meeting should provide further insight, along with the list of requests they laid out for Greenjeans Farms.
“We get presented every month with novel questions,” Lipton said. “(The Planning Board) is going to get a crack at this before you see us.”
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.