Mayor Fuller sent the following to the city council….
Dear Honorable City Councilors,
As you will recall, the City Council recently voted to exclude Garden Remedies Inc. from the current moratorium on adult-use marijuana establishments. Garden Remedies is moving forward with its application to the state Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) to expand its operation from retail sale of medicinal marijuana to include adult-use products at its Washington Street facility.
A host agreement, which is a legal document outlining community impact fees Garden Remedies will pay to the City and some conditions of operation, is required by the CCC as part of the application process.
I recently signed the Host Community Agreement with Garden Remedies in connection with its application. Provisions of the agreement will go into effect if Garden Remedies receives a license from the CCC and approval from the City Council to sell adult-use marijuana.
The key features of the Host Community Agreement include:
- Garden Remedies will pay the City of Newton a community impact fee of 3 percent of its gross revenue from the sale of medicinal marijuana for five years retroactive to March 5, 2018.
- Garden Remedies will also pay the City of Newton a community impact fee of 3 percent of its gross revenue from the sale of adult-use marijuana to the City of Newton for five years calculated from the first day of retail adult-use sales.
- Garden Remedies will contribute $2,500 to public charities or private non-profits in the City of Newton during the first year of the agreement, escalating 5 percent annually.
In addition, Garden Remedies will begin paying a 3 percent tax on the sale of adult-use marijuana as of July 1, 2018, if it receives the state license.
I have a hunch this announcement may spur some lively discussion.
Intentional or not, Garden Remedies seems a bellwether for recreational while the moratorium remains in place.
Garden Remedies has the RIGHT to move forward under the law. Fuller and the City Council have inadvertently handed them the exclusive right to sell recreational cannabis in Newton. The City needs to lift the moratorium and fully comply with State law NOW.
As I pointed out on another thread, Fuller’s failure to understand the issue has already cost the City million$ in financial commitments from cannabis businesses that are spending their money in other communities. Fuller would be doing herself and the city a giant favor by appointing a liason to the cannabis industry.
Ummm…what happens after year 5 in the Host Agreement? Do the fees drop off?
While I’m not opposed to sales of cannabis, I seem to recall Garden Remedies and folks pushing for it in its current location telling us it was only for medical cannabis, recreational wasn’t in their plans…It was Bull then, and the folks who peddled that line of bull…well lets just say that wasn’t the most honest way to start a business in Newtonville.
But it is what it is. I’ll note that I better not hear about certain other neighborhoods not being ok with this in their neighborhood. Four Corners, I’m looking at you…This is right near Cabot (both the Ice Cream AND the School). I’m ok with it, but we are one community folks. What is good for the goose is good for the gander as they say…
On a related note, anti-pot lobby Smart Approaches to Marijuana issued a statement the other day in response to Maine legalization (I quote the relevant part):
“SAM Maine will now take the fight to towns and localities of our state.”
So SAM stated its agenda is to participate in ban efforts at the local level… and surprise! Optoutnewton.org magically appears, with a website design that looks eerily similar to that of SAM and MAPA. What a coincidence! But course OON is: “not affiliated in any way with any other organization anywhere.”
I don’t follow the logic behind this agreement at all. I see why the Council wished to put in place a moratorium. While I disagree with it, there are valid arguments and concerns about recreational marijuana. What I do not understand is why the city council just made Garden Remedies the sole recreational marijuana distributor in the city. WHY?? By the looks of it, the city is about to lose a ton of money from potential recreational revenue, the only reason being that our city council dislikes the idea. Then why in the world would they suddenly allow it in the least profitable way possible??
@Dysfunctional– Fuller and the City Council did not understand the law when they put their moratorium in place. Garden Remedies had/has the legal right to seek a permit modification for adult use. That’s why you saw the principal of Garden Remedies do a quick about-face, with the dispensary first issuing a blistering statement against the proposed moratorium, then quickly reversing themselves to support it–after they realized the City’s actions were about to hand them the exclusive right to sell recreational cannabis in Newton…
Fuller and the City Council have grossly mishandled the cannabis situation. They’ve already cost the city mIllion$ in lost revenue that we’re unlikely to ever get back. More significantly, they have violated a fundamental layer of trust between the public and elected officials by cancelling a legally binding ballot box vote…
While Fuller is great at patting herself on the back for practically everything, neither she nor any of the City Councilors have had the courage to come on V-14 and defend their indefensible moratorium. Imagine the audacity and arrogance it takes to cancel the results of an election without engaging in any public debate. Pretty damn cowardly if you ask me.