In an earlier post on Village 14, it was reported that, at the Waban Area Council Meeting to be held on Thursday, April 11, “the developers of a proposed Recreational Marijuana Dispensary at 1158 Beacon Street (IQ Kitchen/Jaylin Cleaners site) will present their plans and take questions.”
In an email today (Wednesday, April 10), Waban Area Council President, Kathy Winters, has informed our Area Council members that she “… just heard from the attorney for Union Twist, the RMD developer, that they will not be presenting tomorrow night. She (the attorney) said they would be in touch regarding a presentation at a later date.” (Italics are mine)
Update your calendars, but feel free to attend for other worthwhile community discussions on the WAC Agenda which can be found at: www.wabanareacouncil.org.
Is anybody at the city keeping track of the three-store limit on ownership that is spelled out in the law? I know Union Twist is going for a store in Framingham also. Not sure if they have other locations.
This one ought to be postponed all the way back to the drawing board. A pot shop adjacent to a public park that abuts an elementary school, on the same block with people’s homes, an inconvenient hike from T stations and commuter rail, in a mini-mall where existing businesses already share very limited parking. Perfect! Who could possibly object to any of this?
Well…Garden Remedies is a block from Cabot’s Ice Cream, a few blocks from Cabot School, a few blocks to Cabot Park, and is a block from lots of homes. I believe the park distance and school distance is about the same. And Garden Remedies has…4 parking spaces total, all shared. And yet Garden Remedies is going online in a few weeks.
I actually think that after an initial burst of activity, these are really just liquor stores selling a different product. I don’t think the gain is as lucrative for the state as stated, but I don’t think the degree of angst is justified either. Frankly they will be policed at a far greater level than liquor stores. I believe one of the mini-mart shops is a liquor store too, and no one objected to that…
We are one city. If it is appropriate for the North Side, should be for the South and the Waban area…
On the plus side, you’ll know if it is a problem because Garden Remedies will be the Newton test case.
Does Garden Remedies have recreational use yet? If not, will they be getting it?
I am not certain, but I think I read somewhere that Garden Remedies will be by appt only, even for recreational use.
It just got approved for recreational use. Sallee, first I heard about the appointment structure. I don’t think that is accurate going forward.
Newton is a city. There’s lots of stuff located close together in a city. There’s always going to be a school, or a park, or commercial buildings, or residences, or concerned parents, or something in the area.
The only valid questions we can ask are: Is it compliant with zoning restrictions? Is it compliant with buffer zone restrictions? Is it outside the village centers? The answer to all three is “yes”. Let the proposal proceed to whatever is the next licensing step.
This is a difficult location, I think. Next to the old South Pacific site, abutting Cold Springs on the other side. The parking situation there has never been good.
And it’s sandwiched between two Green line stops, instead of practically on one, like Brookline Village’s marijuana shop.
I’m all in favor of these stores, but where would hundreds of cars park in Four Corners?
In places where recreational marijuana is well established at a retail level, customer volume is similar to liquor stores. There will be crowds when 4-Corners opens, but that’s hardly the fault of the shop. It’s a direct result of the painstakingly slow rollout caused by the City Council. So it’s unfair to tag cannabis shops with excessive parking requirements. Especially when the shop in question is next door to a liquor store, and has more than enough parking to conduct their business under normal circumstances.
Until the city licenses enough rec shops to meet consumer demand, there are going to be crowds when any shop opens. The City Council should have followed the voters instructions 3 years ago, rather than obstructing the law all this time. They have already cost the City of Newton million$ in lost revenue, and they are to blame for any crowds that result from the slow pace of the licensing process.
I agree Andy, Newton Four Corners is not ideal.
The dispensary license cap is so high (thanks to Newton’s 42 liquor stores) that buffer zone restrictions will force the shops to be distributed all around the city. That puts Four Corners in play. There are limited locations that will meet all zoning criteria.
As for bets when something actually opens… at the existing pace, mid-2020 at the earliest? By that time we’ll have the Garden Remedies experience to draw on, for lessons learned.
@Fig: This is from Mayor Fuller’s April 11 E-Newsletter:
“Consistent with the special permit approved by the City Council, Garden Remedies will only allow retail customers by appointment. Once an appointment is made online, Garden Remedies will strongly encourage customers to take public transportation to the store.”
Garden remedies has an appointment-only requirement in their special permit, which they routinely flout. Their website even says they take walk-ins. Clearly the city is not enforcing the appointment-only provision. We will see if they enforce it once they go recreational.
@Sarah: Our police have said Garden Remedies have been trouble free. Meanwhile, Newton voters have indisputably and consistently said they support the sale of medical and recreational marijuana in Newton. So what exactly is your concern?
@Greg I have no problem with Garden Remedies and I am happy there have been no problems. My question is what is the purpose of a special permit that specifies appointment-only if walk-ins are allowed? Then why do they need a special permit? Why go through that process if it doesn’t matter? It doesn’t make any sense to me.
What Newton Runner said.
Local regulators are sticking these fledgling businesses with all sorts of restrictions and requirements that increase the cost of doing business and adversely impact consumers. The “appointment” requirement is a popular poison pill from prohibitionist leaning regulators. Needham stuck Sira Naturals with the same requirement. It’s an underhanded way of trying to make it difficult to purchase cannabis. This is why it’s still important to question every City Council candidate about their specific positions on cannabis reform.