The number of retail marijuana dispensaries in the city looks like it could double in the coming months.
At its meeting last week, the Licensing Commission approved the applications for three retail marijuana facilities in Chelsea. The businesses will still need to garner final approval from the state’s Cannabis Control Commission before getting the final okay to operate from the city.
Still, the approvals pave the way for the number of retail dispensaries to jump from the current three in operation to six.
Chelsea currently has the ability to grant six retail marijuana licenses, but the city council is currently in the midst of considering an ordinance change that would allow the city to increase the number of licenses it can grant. In addition to the three approvals granted last week, there is a fourth applicant for a dispensary on Broadway that recently gained planning and zoning approval.
Prior to the license hearings, the commission held a brief public hearing to gather public input on marijuana regulations in the city.
“We have several applicants before us tonight to request one of the remaining cannabis licenses,” said Licensing Commission Chair Marnie MacAlpine. “Given all the public discussion, I wanted to open it up to the come before the commission before we grant them. Just because the city has them available, they do not need to be granted, it is based upon public need and the will of the neighborhood.”
Robert DeMauro Jr. and his father, the owners of 275 Broadway, raised some general concerns about parking and traffic, especially with one of the proposed dispensaries abutting their property.
“It may cause more traffic than the area can handle,” said DeMauro Jr. He noted that the existing marijuana dispensaries are in areas where they have their own dedicated parking spaces or parking lots.
DeMauro said he also had some concerns with locating a dispensary in a residential neighborhood that is near schools.
District 5 City Councilor Judith Garcia spoke as an advocate for retail marijuana sales, but said DeMauro brought up valid concerns with the parking and traffic issues.
Garcia said she also wanted to make sure that the cannabis licenses end up in the hands of responsible individuals, and ones who will hire Chelsea residents and a diverse workforce.
“Every single building, we made sure it was 500 feet from a school,” said City Solicitor Cheryl Watson Fisher. “That’s what the zoning and the state law requires.”
Fisher added that the state law does not require parking for dispensaries, but that it is something the Cannabis Control Commission can take into consideration.
“Every single applicant tonight has gone through the planning and zoning process,” she said. “Every one has entered into a host community agreement with the city.”
That agreement addresses issues such as making sure the businesses pay a living wage and hires Chelsea residents both in rank and file and in management positions.
“We have done our due diligence on the city administration and the city council side to make sure that a lot of the community needs are met,” Fisher said.
Fisher noted that the city council approved an ordinance change allowing dispensaries in the downtown district and other areas in the city, but did not lower the requirement that the businesses be at least 500 feet from schools.
The dispensaries that gained commission approval last week were Trinity Herbals at 260-270 Second Street, House of Ermias at 267 Broadway, and Vida Verde at 320 Revere Beach Parkway.