Pepperell Planning Board Advances Marijuana Zoning Bylaw Toward Town Meeting Vote

PEPPERELL — March 11, 2019 — Pepperell Planning Board holds public hearing on recreational marijuana zoning bylaw, with vote set for March 18. The board opened the hearing March 11, explaining that the proposed bylaw would allow marijuana retail establishments in the commercial zone and cultivation and manufacturing in the industrial zone, all requiring a Planning Board special permit, with consumption prohibited on all premises and a 300-foot buffer from locations where children congregate. Members told the roughly half-dozen residents in attendance that state law bars the town from restricting marijuana retailers more than alcohol retailers, making commercial-zone retail legally unavoidable. "Right now, the town has nothing that can protect it from anybody coming in and doing potentially anything they want," the board's chair said. A written comment from Elizabeth Faxon of 40 High Street asked the board to initially exclude marijuana retail from the commercial zone, while a request from David LaFleur of 27 Maple Street to allow cultivation in a residential zone was declined. If the board votes to approve the bylaw March 18, it goes to the Board of Selectmen for placement on the spring town meeting warrant, where it will require a two-thirds majority before heading to the Attorney General for final review.