COLRAIN — The Planning Board is expecting to approve an amendment to MA Craft Cultivators’ special permit to allow an expansion of operations by extending the growing field, and fixing up and fencing in the existing greenhouse, pending legal review.
Board members told representatives of the cannabis grow facility this week that they do not foresee any issues with the proposal, which includes extending the growing field by approximately 115 feet by 375 feet, plus a 55-foot-by-110-foot area around an existing greenhouse. However, before approving any changes, members wish to check with the town’s attorney to determine whether a public hearing needs to be held.
“There have been no issues, and I don’t really see any issues, but we can’t say definitely you have the green light,” Planning Board Chair Robert Slowinski said. “I don’t see any reason why, but I want to make sure we’re following the legal process.”
By consulting with town counsel, Slowinski said, the Planning Board is looking to “confirm whether we can modify it or just basically go through the special permit process again.”
In a written request to the state Cannabis Control Commission, MA Craft Cannabis said the expansion of the field would offer “better spacing and growing conditions” for the plants.
Wes Ritchie, co-CEO of MA Craft Cultivators, told the board that the company, located at 108 West Leyden Road, currently has hoop houses, a type of greenhouse, on the property and would like to fix them up and incorporate them into the growing operation. The structures would be enclosed with a plastic film and would not have any artificial light.
“We have them on the property and we just don’t use them, but we feel great about expanding into that,” Ritchie said. “We want to enclose them in a fence and use them as propagation space.”
Ritchie told the Planning Board that, per the Cannabis Control Commission, because the proposed fence would not be taller than 7 feet, it would not require a building permit.