Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-06-17 ad Hoc - Zoning Advisory Committee MinutesTown of Reading I Meeting Minutes RECEIVED TOWN CLERK EADING, MASS. Board - Committee - Commission - Council: 2014 JUL 14 P i= a'@ Zoning Advisory Committee Date: 2014 -06 -17 Tlme: 5:30 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Conference Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Purpose: General Business Sesslon: Attendees: Members - Present: David Tuttle Jeff Hansen Marsie West Erin Calvo -Bacci David Traniello Members - Not Present: George Katsoufs Eric Bergstrom Others Present: Jean Delos - Assistant Town Manager, Community Services Jessie Wilson - Community Development Administrator Joanne Senders - RCASA James Cormier - Chief of Police Mark Segalla - Deputy Chief Eric McNamana - RCASA Nancy Docktor Jullanne DAngells - RCASA Elalne Webb - RCASA Bob LeLacheur - Town Manager Minutes Respectfully submitted By: Jessle Wilson, Community Development Administrator Topics of Discussion: There being a quorum Ms. West called the meeting to order at 5:35 PM. Ms. Dellos said that the Zoning Advisory Committee (ZAC) has been working with a Consultant to re -write the zoning bylaw. The project website Is www.vhb.com /readincizonina and there Is a lot of Information there. The meeting tonight relates to medical marijuana uses and specifically where should these uses be zoned. Ms. Delos pointed out that the Town cannot outright ban these uses and will need to determine where these uses should be located. She added that the State regulations have permitted a 500 -foot buffer but does allow Communities to institute larger buffers. In preparation of this meeting, Staff prepared two maps that depict a 500 -foot buffer and 1,000 -foot buffer from areas in which children regularly congregate. Using schools, daycares, nurseries and parks, staff has prepared these two maps. Page 1 1 Town of Reading - Meeting Minutes Mr. Traniello clarified that the phrase "where children commonly congregate" would not Include an Ice cream shop. The maps were reviewed. Ms. Docktor asked how the buffers would Impact the access to public transportation. Mr. Letacheur said It appears there Is a small area off the train station not located in the buffer. In looking at the maps, Ms. Delios said that the idea was to see what land was outside of the buffers. This would provide for a visual on where the community could consider zoning the medical marijuana uses based on using either the 500 -ft or 1,000 -ft buffers. Mr. Tuttle said that he feels this use is just as dangerous as a liquor store, but has different licensing requirements. He said that It is going to be heavily regulated by the state and the Town should not treat it any different. Ms. Webb stated that in previous forums, some people expressed that the Industrial District would be "dark and out -of- sight" and felt having It in an area more visible would be ideal. Ms. Webb expressed concern and felt that the Industrial Area is not the "dark and out -of- sight" area as described and feels It Is an active area that many people travel to. Police Chief Jim Cormier stated he does not think there are any "dark areas" In Reading and feels that the Industrial District would offer a great place for this type of business. He pointed out there are three aspects of the use 1) Cultivation 2) Dispensing 3) Combination of both. Regardless, he feels that if this use ever came to Reading it would be a busy facility just based on the fact that the state only has a limited amount of licenses. He did say that he believes the Industrial Zone would be the best location for the zoning of medical marijuana. Ms. Docktor disagreed that the Industrial Area is a busy area. In her experience she said there are many times where there is very little traffic in the area. Mr. Traniello pointed out there Is also a processing component to this use In which they would be making baked goods and confections. This could be combined with the cultivation and dispensing uses of medical marijuana. Ms. Webb stated that the goal is to find the optimal location for the community, not necessarily what is going to be the best location for the users. Ms. McNamana pointed out that many other communities have zoned medical marijuana in their industrial zones. Mr. Hansen said that it should be kept In mind that Town Meeting Members are the ones that ultimately will vote on this. He feels the language needs to be drafted such that it meets their expectation at the floor of Town Meeting. Ms. Webb asked If the facility would have to conform to parking requirements. Mr. Tuttle replied yes, they would. There was a discussion regarding wholesaling. Chief Cormier said that the regulations pertaining to the cultivation aspect of the operation stipulate where the goods could be delivered after they are cultivated. Mr. LeLacheur said that it is Important to have the zoning pass in November because the temporary moratorium runs out at that time. In addition, he said It would be great to have formal support from RCASA on the warrant article. Ms. Delios said that next step would be to follow -up with the Consultant on the discussion held today to finalize the draft language for ZAC review. Page 1 2 Town of Reading - Meeting Minutes There was a discussion regarding the Trapeze School located in the Jordan's Building. Ms. Delios said that is something we could relay back to Counsel on as to whether that should fall under the buffer. Mr. Hansen reported that the Initial draft language provided by the Consultant had some redundancies in regards to the state regulations. The ZAC felt the language would be streamlined and lean more on the state regulations. Mr. LeLacheur asked how the regulations would address a situation where a nursery school wanted to locate adjacent to a medical marijuana facility. Ms. Dellos said that is a good question and we would want to defer to Counsel on how to address those. Likely the Town would not allow the nursery school to locate there, but she would like more information from Counsel on that. There was general consensus to have the medical marijuana uses zoned In the Industrial District with the 500 -foot buffer. Ms. McNamana said that RCASA is meeting in August and that may be a good time to review the warrant article. Ms. Delios said that warrant article would be recommended to the CPDC by the ZAC and the CPDC would hold a public hearing sometime before the warrant closes. The CPDC does meet on July 25' and August 11th. Adiournment Ms. Calvo -Bacci moved the ZAC to adjourn at 6:3013M. Mr. Tuttle seconded and motion carried 4 -0 -0. v,,, 13