The TAB’s Julie Cohen provides an update on Tuesday’s Land Use Committee hearings for two proposed recreational marijuana shops: Ascend Mass at 58 Cross St./1089 Washington St. and Union Twist Inc. at 1158 Beacon St.
Proposed marijuana shops stalled in committee
by Village 14 | Feb 5, 2020 | Newton | 29 comments
I have a really hard time understanding all this fretting over traffic. There’s a Dunkin’ right down the street from the proposed Union Twist. Does anyone think Union is going to attract more vehicles than Dunkin? Did Ken Parker oppose opening that Dunkin? Was there ever an organized uproar about opening that Dunkin there or anywhere in Newton? How about when Raviolis opened?
An even bigger red herring is this whole brohaha over Ascend not having a public rest room!
Seriously, we’re dictating whether or not a retail business has to have a public bathroom for a ten minute shopping trip?
I’m confident that the Land Use Committee and ultimately the entire Council will do the right thing and move these proposals forward ASAP. Since when do stores have to provide public bathrooms? This is just a typical NIMBY stalling tactic. There’s plenty of parking at both sites. In the meantime Newton is losing tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue. Come on Land Use, let’s get going!
This was the fifth hearing for the Ascend special permit. I’ve attended four and it’s like watching Ground Hog’s Day. The bathrooms were actually one of the larger issues – how about which plant was going to be placed where (we’ll plant whatever you like). Or there aren’t enough bike racks (we’ll add more).
We were told that each speaker would have 2 minutes at the hearing so I prepared a two-minute statement. The first person who spoke in opposition spoke for five minutes and wasn’t stopped, the second spoke for eight minutes, and only then was asked to wrap it up – she spoke for about two more minutes. As it turns out people are allowed to speak for as long as they want. Live and learn.
Sixteen months ago, the voters of Newton approved eight cannabis retail shops. I was the chair of the ballot committee to limit the number to 4. We lost and I accepted that. Unfortunately, we have councilors who have clearly not accepted the outcome of that election and have no intention of approving Ascend.
I left after three hours at 10:00 and one councilor had the nerve to ask why I didn’t stay to speak for Union Twist which is in my neighborhood. It had been made very clear to us that the hearing for UT would be open at the next meeting and I plan to attend that meeting and speak on behalf of it. But to ask residents to sit on those hard benches for hours on end is unconscionable while they sit in their cushy chairs and discuss which plant to put where and other minuscule issues and is disrespectful of their time.
Unfortunately, Gerry, I don’t think this city council has the courage to stand up to neighborhood opposition to a store selling a legal substance that Newton voters asked for.
@Greg, could mean a big increase in traffic between Union Twist and Dunkin’…
Well sure Adam. It’s cumulative.
But do you think folks would be complaining about possible traffic if Starbucks was going into the Union Twist site?
I don’t
Of course they don’t. That’s the point and yet councilors vehemently deny it as they put up roadblock after roablock that no other retail store must deal with.
The obvious solution is to put it at Northland. Then you’d have one-stop opposition to everything.
“While some abutters praised these developments, they worried…customers might be tempted to smoke or relieve themselves nearby.”
These are absolutely laughable reasons not to open a business at this location.
First of all, it is against the law to pee in public. Second of all, it is illegal to smoke marijuana in public. All MA dispensaries I’ve been to have had police presence in the parking lot, or at the very least multiple private security guards. Do we really think these authorities will allow people to break the law right in front of their business? I’d argue that a dispensary at this location will actually reduce the likelihood of people both peeing and smoking nearby.
Right now, it is an empty lot. If I was still living in Newton, this would be the exact type of place I’d go to urinate or suck down a good old fashioned marijuana cigarette. Heck, maybe I’d even kill two birds with one stone and perform the ol’ pee and puff maneuver. Just don’t let the ash hit your…!
The idea that people urinate in public near cannabis stores, but not other stores, would be ludicrous if it weren’t based in classist discrimination and tinged with racism.
Greg,
You obviously have not been following the residential proposals for Four Corners which have also been objected to because of traffic issues despite having lower traffic counts then the Union Twist proposal. The traffic complaints in Four Corners aren’t only a marijuana issue. If there was a special permit for a Starbucks in Four Corners I expect you would get people complaining about the traffic it generates.
My attempt at humor failed miserably.
Give me an afternoon with Ken Parker, a marijuana cigarette, and a Grateful Dead album, and he’ll be begging the City Council to push the Ascend permits forward before the sun goes down.
Grew up near NETA in Brookline. Have family still in that neighborhood. Often pass it on route 9 when going into Boston. The concerns are real. Even super progressive Brookline has buyers remorse.
https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2019/10/22/brookline-residents-seeking-restrictions-for-popular-pot-shop
That said, I support the vote, and applaud Newton and these dispensary applicants on improving upon Brookline, it appointment only, etc. And yes, agree they should go in Northland. 😉
What about the liquor store in the strip mall? Doesn’t that add traffic? To me pot shops and liquor stores are the same. It doesn’t add ambiance and it doesn’t detract from ambiance. It is a retail store that sells goods to people who want to purchase them. If you don’t want it, don’t buy it. In the 1970s every place was selling cigarettes.
Matt- The Brookline Town Meeting specifically voted against having “appointment only” stores. That was their choice. They may regret it now, but it is what they voted for. On the other hand, all of Newton’s stores will be appointment only.
I made my appointment at Garden Remedies on the website, arrived on time, and no more than 6-10 people were in the store during my half hour visit. I needed extra time for a consult as it was my first visit. Everyone else was in the store for less than 10 minutes. My future visits will take less than 10 minutes, as I will order ahead and need to make an appointment even for a pickup. As I headed to the door, a Garden Remedies attendant politely informed me that I needed to use another door to exit. There are more safety restrictions in place on cannabis stores than on any other store of any kind, including liquor stores.
Newton has 42 liquor stores, two within 100 yards of the Union Twist proposed location. Imagine the traffic if we had one liquor store for the entire city. It would be a nightmare.
#Respectthevote
@Adam I got it and thought it was pretty funny FWIW
Guess I’m a little slow, since I did not get it.
But I do now. Adam was joking that there will be a “big increase in traffic between Union Twist and Dunkin’” consisting of marijuana customers going to use Dunkin’s bathrooms! Good one! 😉
Respect the law? Has anyone been to Crystal Lake in the summer? Lots of people and dogs swimming, etc., all right in front of multiple no swimming signs. And now you want us to believe that there will be officers making sure people won’t smoke or pee in that location? This is ridiculous and you know that.
I pass by the Brookline store many times, and there are people smoking marijuana in that location multiple times. Homeowners are unhappy and they put signs redirecting consumers. If your life is enter the car and drive to work then it’s fine, but people like me who take walks in the neighborhood every day don’t want that.
@greg – maybe I didn’t get it – I was thinking there would be increased traffic between the 2 establishments because marijuana supposedly causes you to get hungry and people would be going to get their doughnuts!
Right @Newton Runner. Or so I have been told.
I won’t quit my day job.
I also want to add that I pass by NETA all the time and have absolutely seen people smoking pot by there and once I did see a guy peeing. I was in a car with 3 other people and I must admit we had a good laugh. This happens mostly later at night, I’ve never seen this during the day. Sometimes those lines are very, very long and I imagine at some point, you just have to go!But I don’t think they are appointment only which would solve that problem.
NETA is the only recreational marijuana shop in Massachusetts located near a T station and the top grossing recreational store in the state. They do not require appointments. Drawing a parallel between that business and either of these two Newton applicants would be like comparing the game days outside Fenway Park with game day at Weeks Field.
A better comparison is Garden Remedies, where there have been no reported problems.
@Newton Runner: You got it. I was attempting to build a joke off Adam’s attempted joke. Guess we’ll both keep our day jobs.
Here we are nearly 4 years after instructing our elected officials to “regulate marijuana like alcohol,” and some members of the City Council are still obstructing implementation of the law. They have no respect for the vote or for the voters. They are emblematic of a much larger problem in America, democracy is in trouble.
Like Trump’s Russian collusion and the vote bunglers in Iowa, the Newton City Council is doing their damndest to erode the meaning and value of democracy. Frankly, they disgust me, and I’m way past the point of wanting to maintain civility when discussing this issue, which transcends cannabis legalization and cuts to the core of integrity in the democratic process.
As to the Ascend application specifically, most issues raised by opponents are fabricated nonsense driven by ignorance and general canna-phobia. The singular requirement I agree with is that every marijuana shop serving MEDICAL patients should be required to have a bathroom.
More broadly, people concerned about crowds at cannabis stores should help mitigate that possibility by pushing the City Council to issue Newton’s 8 licenses as quickly as possible.
If Brookline residents are disturbed by activities near Nets, they need to have their Town Meeting representatives revisit the “no appointment” policy that they created. Until the Town Meeting changes the ruling, Neta has no choice but to be a no appointment store.
Newton has been very clear that all visits to cannabis stores will be by appointment only.
Brookline Town Meeting did discuss changing to appointment only and they decided against it. So if people of Brookline aren’t as troubled this, maybe its time for people in Newton to stop complaining about the Brookline’s crowds too. The fact is, Brookline is enjoying a significant tax revenue boost that we certainly could be getting a bigger piece of, bathrooms not withstanding.
We’re now more than 3 years on since recreational was legalized. Delay, delay, delay. What’s after arguing over bike racks, a referendum about on-site shrubs? The height of the street curb? The composition of roofing materials?
If this crowd had gotten its hands on Newton Community Farm we’d still be debating today whether to grow beets or cabbages.
Here’s the Boston Globe’s story on Tuesday night’s public hearings, written by two Boston University students.
Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together – mass hysteria.
Newton’s mantra: We’re all in favor of marijuana dispensaries, housing, transportation improvements, etc… as long as it’s somewhere else.