A Plethora Of Pot

Pot is now legal to grow in Massachusetts

The Amherst Select Board, keepers of the public way, is greatly concerned about the implementation of recreational pot which is already legal to grow and share as long as you don't charge for it (wink, wink). 

In their official letter to our good friend Senate President Stan Rosenberg and Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo they outline four requests:

(1) Allow a local municipality an easy way (Town Meeting) to delay recreation sales.

(2) Allow a local municipality an easy way (Town Meeting) to limit the number and location of recreational pot establishments.

(3) Rethink the "home grown" provision so Amherst is not overrun by free recreational pot.

(4) Rethink the 2% maximum local option sales tax on retailers.

The current law allows Amherst to limit the number of recreational pot permits to (a) either no more than the number of medical permits issued or (b) 20% the number of alcohol sales permits.

 55 University Drive received Special Permit from ZBA on June 30th

The Select Board issued four "Letters of Support" for medical marijuana businesses already and two of them have gained the necessary Special Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

But ZBA Chair Mark Parent strongly suggested he would not approve any more than two based on market projections for medical marijuana in Amherst.

169 Meadow Street, N. Amherst received Special Permit July 21st

And Alisa Brewer pegged the number of recreational pot permits that could be issued based on 20% of alcohol permits at three.

Either provision requires a referendum vote at our local election and either provision can be added to the ballot with a simple majority vote of the Select Board.

So at the very least the Select Board should place the limiting provision on the upcoming end of March local election ballot and if they want the least number of recreational permits, tie it to the number of Medical permits issued which may very well end up being only two. 

And to limit it even further simply grant the two medical facilities those two recreation permits, which the state already seems to condone.

Since the revenue to the town is based on a percent of sales (2%) the tax revenues to the town stays the same if it's 2 facilities satisfying the market or 22.

Marijuana Gold Rush

Rafter's property still needs a ZBA Special Permit for medical dispensary

If the medical marijuana market in Amherst is considered to be $10 million annually anyone want to venture a guess what the market in our little college town will be for recreational pot?  Yikes!

One sudden turn of events that has caught town officials by surprise is the aggressive timetable for implementing the successful November 8th ballot question which passed handily statewide and was overwhelmingly supported by Amherst voters by a 3-1 margin.

As of Thursday pot will be legal to possess or grow for personal use.  So if you see grow lights glowing all night long at your neighbor's house maybe they will share the bounty of their indoor crop which will also be legal to do.

 85 University Drive.  1st to get SB approval but still needs Special Permit

Commercial sales however will be as regulated as medical marijuana, but if those regulations are not in place by January 1st, 2018 medical marijuana dispensaries will be given a free pass to start selling the product to anyone over the age of 21.

Amherst has two facilities that have garnered both Select Board approval and a Special Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals for medical marijuana.

Another two have the Select Board letter of support but have not yet gone before the ZBA for a Special Permit hearing, probably because ZBA Chair Mark Parent telegraphed at the 2nd hearing that he thought two permits should be the quota for medical marijuana.

But now that medical dispensaries are being given priority treatment as future providers of recreational pot that suggested quota just went out the window.

 55 University Drive received Special Permit from ZBA on June 30th

Last night the Select Board discussed the situation and briefly considered calling for a moratorium on issuing permits or letters of support for recreational pot facilities but they don't want to interfere with medical marijuana licensing, which have now become hopelessly intertwined. 

Town Manager Paul Bockelman will draft a letter to state officials describing some of the unique challanges facing Amherst, a college town with the lowest median age in the state, and the Select Board will review it next week.

169 Meadow Street, N. Amherst received Special Permit July 21st

Meanwhile, starting this Thursday, smoke 'em if you got 'em.  Just don't drive under the influence (not that the state has a reliable test for that).

Having three dispensaries located on University Drive has UMass officials concerned

Drawing Fire

Sawmill will be demolished to make way for project

It didn't take long for NIMBYs to voice their public comment about Beacon Communities proposed 130 unit development in North Amherst and as usual complaints included traffic, noise, and the fear of more college aged youth moving to their neighborhood.

 NIMBYs invaded 8/29 Select Board meeting

The main suggestion was to downsize considerably the number of housing units by as much as 50%. Since the project includes a significant affordable housing component it has to be a sizable number of total units to make up for the low cost ones.

And since Amherst has an across the board housing shortage, any increase is a good thing. Beacon is using a "friendly 40B" approach to get needed concessions on height, set back and lot coverage in order to make the project work.

If the state grants them clearance they must still get approval from our Zoning Board of Appeals but unlike a normal hearing where a Special Permit requires a unanimous vote this would only require a two-thirds vote.

Yesterday the town filed a MassWorks grant proposal for $1 million to redo the funky North Amherst main intersection of Montague & Sunderland Roads with Meadow Street, North Pleasant and Pine Streets.

Sunderland and Montague Road branch off after intersection of Pine/Meadow/North Pleasant

And the state does heavily weigh future economic development before issuing the grants.

Neighbors are concerned that the town has formed an unholy alliance with Beacon and Cowls (the landowner) in order to acquire the grant and that will unduly influence the ZBA.

 Click to enlarge/read

A few years ago these same NIMBYs successfully shot down zoning changes that would have led to more development in North Amherst and as a result the state twice turned down our $4 million MassWorks grant to rehab Pine Street.

Pot Of Gold

Amherst Medical marijuana is projected to be $10 million in annual sales

The Amherst Select Board acting as our chief executives will sign a "community host agreement" on Monday night with one of four Registered Marijuana Dispensaries  that will generate at least $90,000 in guaranteed payments and possibly twice that in a 3% take of the action, estimated to be $10 million annually.

   Amherst Pot Agreement

The contract calls for $75,000 in year one plus 3% of gross sales, and a guaranteed payment of $15,000 annually to a social service agency that focuses on Amherst.  The next two years of the contract ,where annual sales will have ramped up, calls for just the 3% cut of sales.

Of the four entities wishing to acquire the Golden Ticket to sell medicinal pot in Amherst only two have thus far gained a required Special Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals: Mass Alternative Care at 55 University Drive and GTI Massachusetts NP Corporation at 169 Meadow Street.

Rafters has been a local landmark for 25 years proposed site for Happy Valley Ventures

Interestingly Happy Valley Ventures has not yet acquired that vital document.  And by most measures they are only business generating controversy since their operation will displace Rafters Sports Bar and Restaurant, a beloved institution for the past 25 years.

Obviously this gold rush is stimulated by not only the medical market for this all natural drug of choice, but the recreational legalization question coming up on the November 8th ballot.

In 2000 Amherst was the first community in the state to approve a non binding referendum question urging police to relax the enforcement of marijuana laws.

And in 2001 the Select Board unanimously approved a letter to state and federal authorities urging legalization as Amherst Town Meeting had done previously in 1976.

Marijuana Quota Met?

169 Meadow St RMD site for GTI

Last night the Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved a Special Permit to establish and operate an Off-Site Medical Marijuana Dispensary at 169 Meadow Street, North Amherst by GTI Massachusetts NP Corporation, the second such permit issued over the past four weeks.

 Attorney Tom Reidy presents to ZBA last night

But, in all likelihood, the last such permit to be issued over the foreseeable future.

55 University Drive location received a Special Permit on June 30th

ZBA Chair Mark Parent made it perfectly clear that he considers two dispensaries in Amherst (and the one already operating in Northampton) more than enough to satisfy local demand over the next five years, saying "I don't see anything beyond two in Amherst.  I cannot image giving a 3rd permit for a dispensary given the numbers I've seen."

A Special Permit requires a unanimous vote off all three ZBA members.

Seated in the audience UMass community liaisons Tony Maroulis and Eric Beal seemed relieved to hear the ZBA Chair's candid remarks about maintaining a cap of only two dispensaries in Amherst, thus leaving out in the cold two remaining non-profits who have applied for locations on University Drive, the main gateway to UMass Amherst.

85 University Drive was the first to get Select Board approval but has not yet appeared before ZBA

Mr. Parent also made it perfectly clear the Special Permit was for medical use of marijuana, NOT recreational use. 

So if the recreational pot legalization ballot question passes on November 8th any dispensary in Amherst already issued a Special Permit would need to come back to the ZBA for a change in conditions.

Rafters,  a local landmark for 25 years, is a proposed site for Happy Valley Ventures, the 4th entity to get Select Board approval but has not yet appeared before ZBA

Letter from Select Board read into public record last night:

Click to enlarge/read

Pot Dispensary Local Hurdles Cleared

55 University Drive:  From wings to medical marijuana

Mass Alternative Care became the first of four competing medical marijuana dispensaries to receive their Special Permit from the Amherst Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday night, with some conditions that they will no doubt meet.

Their facility is located at 55 University Drive, the former location of the Hanger Pub & Grill (who moved across the street), and they will share the building with Hospice Care thrift shop.  

Mass Alternative Care was second to acquire their Letter of Support from the Amherst Select Board and second to apply for their Special Permit with the ZBA.

169 Meadow St RMD site for GTI

The 3rd company to gain Select Board support, GTI, is proposing a dispensary at 169 Meadow Street in North Amherst, but they were first to appear before the ZBA.   Their Special Permit hearing, however, was continued to July 21st.

Their attorney, Tom Reidy, thought the reason Mass Alternative Care got their Special Permit in only a one night hearing is because they already have their Provisional Certificate of Registration with the Department of Public Health, something his clients will have by the their next appearance before the ZBA.

 Rich Slobody (maroon shirt) APD Chief Scott Livingstone (back left)

In the audience Thursday night, besides attorney Reidy, two other stakeholders from other pot dispensaries watched the proceedings:  Rich Slobody, who is building a 2,000 square foot facility at 85 University Drive for MassMedicum, who was the first non profit to garner Select Board approval.

 85 University Drive under construction for MassMedicum

 Attorney Tom Reidy (back left) Mass Alternative Care CEO Kevin Collins (front left)

And Jerry Jolly who owns Rafters (the business but not the building) at the corner of University Drive and Amity Street which was the 4th location to receive Select Board approval.

 Rafters has been a local landmark for 25 years proposed site for Happy Valley Ventures

Happy Valley Ventures would demolish the current building and perhaps build an additional building on the property but seems to have no plans to keep Rafters on site.

If Mass Alternative Care now goes on to acquire a state license they plan to commence cultivation in November and start selling the medicinal products in Amherst by July, 2017.

The ZBA must make a determination that a facility "meets a demonstrated need" thus the 4th entity to go before them could find the need has been met by the previous three.

Temporary Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner told the Select Board Amherst's medical marijuana market is estimated at $10 million annually, and could generate $250,000 to the town via Host Community Agreements.

A voluminous winning proposal (must have been the aerial cover shot)

Obviously if Massachusetts voters pass the referendum question on November 8th to legalize recreational use of marijuana, the Amherst market e-x-p-a-n-d-s exponentially. 

Pot Of Gold? (Weed That Is)

Meadow St RMD site:  3rd to get SB approval but first to go before ZBA

The Amherst Select Board on Monday night heard from Temporary Town Manager Pete Hechenbleikner that the estimated medical marijuana market in our little college town is $10 million annually. 

Can you imagine what the market will be if pot is legalized this coming November?  Yikes!

No wonder the floodgates have opened for RMDs (Registered Marijuana Dispensary) trying to be first to market in Amherst.

 85 University Drive building now under construction 1st site to gain SB approval

Interestingly there's no particular economic benefit to the town if we have, say, four dispensaries licensed versus just one.  Because the Host Community Agreements call for a percentage of sales (between 2%-3%), thus Amherst will intake around $250,000 on that $10 million whether it's one facility or four satisfying the market.

Although some minor economic benefits occur with more than just one.  Each dispensary has to donate $20,000 annually to a public charity serving the town so four dispensaries would generate $80,000 per year.

 55 University Drive will require renovations 2nd site to gain SB approval

And the facilities are on the tax rolls so the valuation of those properties will probably go up thus generating more property tax revenues.

 Amherst Select Board Monday night Pete Hechenbleikner (center)

Andy Steinberg tried to get fellow board members to call a moratorium on new letters of approval although he was careful not to use the word "moratorium" as the town attorney already advised that would be illegal.

His concern is how many dispensaries are too many?

The Select Board has already approved three.  But fellow board members felt guilty about how much power they have over RMD approval:  A no vote summarily kills a project with absolutely no avenue for appeal.

Kind of like a Public School Superintendent issuing a stay away order.

 Rafters corner of University Drive/Amity Street 4th site to seek SB approval

The Select Board voted 4-1 to grant a hearing to the 4th wanna-be at their next meeting June 20th.  That particular proposal of course could endanger Rafters, a local legend.

The other major hurdle for RMD's is our Zoning Board of Appeals, and that hurdle requires a unaniomous vote of all three members.  And one critical provision they must ascertain is if the facility, "Meets a demonstrated need."

With that in mind #4 on the list could be in trouble.   Although ZBA decisions can be appealed.

Fool Me Three times?

Townehouse Apartments, Mid April

Third time was the charm for couch burning out at everybody's favorite outdoor play area, the west quad of Townehouse Apartments on Meadow Street in North Amherst. 

Last month, with a couple thousand college aged youth crammed into the quad, the firebugs escaped capture.

As did a couch torching this past Friday night.  But Sunday was a different story.  Private security caught the perp, who was charged with burning personal property. 

He was arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday before Judge Thomas Estes, and had his case continued until 5/31/16 for pre-trial.

Click to enlarge/read

Almost Gone

UMass Amherst about to become Tranquility Base

The final weekend before graduation at our Goliath institute of higher education went well, with only one usual hot spot (okay, maybe one-and-a-half) for a large outdoor gathering, Hobart Lane.

 Hobart Lane 3:30 PM Saturday

Fortunately it did not turn into a Hobart Hoedown.

 Hobart Lane Sunday morning

Amherst police monitored the festivities all day, made a few arrests for "liquor law violations" (underage drinking, open container) but pretty much let the steam blow off.  Safely.

 Meadow Street, Saturday afternoon

Extravaganja last year

Of course both APD and AFD would have been a whole lot busier if Extravaganja had not moved over to Northampton where it attracted a crowd of 12,000 -- twice the size of last year's overcrowded event on the Town Common.

 Meadow Street Sunday morning

Fearing Street Sunday morning

Medical Marijuana Trifecta?

Auction Barn in North Amherst possible home to medical marijuana dispensary

The Select Board on Monday night will be asked yet again for a "letter of support or non opposition" to a medical marijuana dispensary located at 169 Meadow Street in deep North Amherst, almost to the Sunderland line.

Although ever optimistic attorney Tom Reidy succinctly requests a Letter of Support, which the Select Board has opted to do for the previous two petitioners.  

The building is the former home of Kimball's Auction Barn who recently moved to Rt 9 Hadley after the 47 acre property was sold by W.D. Cowls to farmer Joe Czajikowski earlier this month.

Since there is not a state regulation concerning the number of dispensaries in a city or town theoretically all three could get state approval, although highly unlikely.

But who knows, if the ballot question legalizing recreational pot gets approved this coming November, we could probably provide more than enough business for three dispensaries.

Blarney Blowout 2016

Morning briefing 7:15 AM  100+ police vehicles and AFD on scene

 #####

Parking ban prevented extra thousands from attending

8:25 AM:

Townhouse quads in North Amherst are quiet as police are blockading both entrances 

Police blocking entrance to Townhouse Apartments

Parking lots near Southwest still have plenty of room

 Ch 22 with their hard to miss camera

High Noon:

UMPD at Mullins Center concert:  "Still under 1,000 patrons and we have more leaving than coming." #blarneyblowout

— Larry Kelley (@amherstac) March 5, 2016

2:30 PM:

Townhouse quads quiet like a church mouse, although party activity in the front yards along Meadow Street

PD blockade was extremely effective 

PD blockade at Puffton Village, another usual flashpoint

 State Police Helicopter Air 1 flew lazy loops all morning into early afternoon 

 AFD responding for the 2nd time to 11 Phillips Street for a false fire alarm

APD K9 "Dash" assisted with party control on Shumway Street and College Street

Police broke up noisy gathering on Amity Street near town ctr

 
8:00 PM:  Good night Blarney:

6:30 AM The Morning After:

 Meadow Street

Phillips Street

 Fearing Street