City Council - Ordinance Committee

CHICOPEE CITY COUNCIL ORDINANCE COMMITTEE ACCEPTED MEMBERS James Tillotson, Chairman Gary Labrie, Vice-Chairman Robert J. Zygarowski Frank Laflamme Timothy McLellan MINUTES March 10, 2015 The following are the minutes of a public hearing held Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 6:30 PM in the City Council Chambers, Fourth Floor, City Hall Annex, 274 Front Street, Chicopee, MA 01013. Members Present: Tillotson, Labrie, Laflamme, Zygarowski Not Present: McLellan Also Present: Councilor Lamontagne, Councilor Krampits, Dan Garvey (Asst. City Solicitor) The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM. In compliance with the open meeting laws the Chairman asked if anyone in the audience was recording the meeting. ITEM #1 BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF CHICOPEE THAT CHAPTER 275, SECTION 70 OF THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF CHICOPEE IS HEREBY DELETED AND INSERT IN PLACE THEREOF THE ATTACHED MEDICAL MARIJUANA FACILITIES ORDINANCE AS DETAILED IN EXHIBIT A ATTACHED HERETO AND INCORPORATED HEREIN. § 275-70 Medical marijuana facilities. A. Purposes. (1) To provide for the establishment of medical marijuana facilities in appropriate places and under strict conditions in accordance with the passage of the Acts of 2012, Chapter 369, entitled "An Act for the Humanitarian Use of Marijuana." (2) To minimize the adverse impacts of medical marijuana facilities on adjacent properties, residential neighborhoods, schools and other places where children 1  congregate, local historic districts, and other land uses potentially incompatible with said facilities. (3) To regulate the siting, design, placement, safety, monitoring, modification, and removal of medical marijuana facilities. B. Applicability. (1) The cultivation (unless it meets the requirements for an agricultural exemption under MGL c. 40A, § 3), production, processing, assembly, packaging, retail or wholesale sale, trade, distribution or dispensing of marijuana for medical use is prohibited unless permitted as a medical marijuana facility under this section. (2) No medical marijuana facility shall be established except in compliance with the provisions of this section. (3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede federal and state laws governing the sale and distribution of narcotic drugs. (4) If any provision of this section or the application of any such provision to any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the remainder of this section, to the extent it can be given effect, or the application of those provisions to persons or circumstances other than those to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby, and to this end the provisions of this section are severable. C. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated: MARIJUANA The same substance defined as "marihuana" under MGL, c. 94c. MARIJUANA FOR MEDICAL USE Marijuana that is designated and restricted for use by, and for the benefit of, qualifying patients in the treatment of debilitating medical conditions, as set forth in the Acts of 2012, Chapter 369, entitled "An Act for the Humanitarian Use of Marijuana." MEDICAL MARIJUANA FACILITY A facility for the cultivation, production, processing, assembly, packaging, retail or wholesale sale, trade, distribution or dispensing of marijuana for medical use, located inside a structure or building. D. Eligible locations for medical marijuana facilities. (1) Medical marijuana facilities, other than agricultural operations meeting exemption standards under MGL c. 40A, § 3, may be allowed by special permit of the Chicopee City Council in the Industrial Zoning District, provided the facility otherwise meets the requirements of this section. E. General requirements and conditions for all medical marijuana facilities. 2 (1) All nonexempt medical marijuana facilities shall be contained within a building or structure. (2) Medical marijuana facility size or gross floor area shall be determined or delineated by the Special Permit Granting Authority. If no such delineation is made the facility shall not exceed 50,000 square feet. (3) A medical marijuana facility may not be located in buildings that contain any medical doctor's offices or the offices of any other professional practitioner authorized to prescribe the use of medical marijuana. (4) The hours of operation of medical marijuana facilities shall be set by the special permit granting authority, but in no event shall said facilities be open and/or operating between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. (5) No medical marijuana facility shall be located within 300 feet of any residence or residential zoning district. This includes overlay zoning districts that allow residential uses, provided that a permit for residential use has been approved prior to the application for a medical marijuana facility special permit. (6) No medical marijuana facility shall be located within 1,000 feet of any of the following preexisting structures or uses: (a) Any school attended by children under the age of 18; (b) Any licensed child care facility; (c) Any drug or alcohol rehabilitation facility; (d) Any correctional facility, halfway house, or similar facility; (e) Any other medical marijuana facility. (7) No medical marijuana facility shall be located within 500 feet of the following preexisting structures or uses: (a) Any church; (b) Any park (c) Any playground; (d) Any play field; (e) Any youth center; or (f) Any other location where groups of minors regularly congregate. (8) No smoking, burning or consumption of any product containing marijuana or marijuana-related products shall be permitted on the premises of a medical marijuana facility. 3  (9) No medical marijuana facility shall be located inside a building containing residential units, including transient housing such as motels and dormitories, or inside a movable or mobile structure such as a van or truck. (10) Signage for the medical marijuana facility shall include the following language: "Registration card issued by the MA Department of Public Health required." The required text shall be a minimum of two inches in height. (11) Medical marijuana facilities shall provide the Chicopee Police Department and Building Commissioner with the names, phone numbers and email addresses of all management staff and keyholders to whom one can provide notice if there are operating problems associated with the establishment. F. Special permit requirements. (1) A medical marijuana facility may only be allowed by special permit from the Chicopee City Council in accordance with MGL c. 40A, § 9, subject to the following statements, regulations, requirements, conditions and limitations. (2) A special permit for a medical marijuana facility shall be limited to one or more of the following uses that shall be prescribed by the special permit granting authority: (a) Cultivation of marijuana for medical use (horticulture) (special permit not required for sites meeting agricultural exemption standards found in MGL c. 40A, § 3); (b) Processing and packaging of marijuana for medical use, including marijuana that is in the form of smoking materials, food products, oils, aerosols, ointments, and other products; (c) Retail sale or distribution of marijuana for medical use to qualifying patients; (d) Wholesale sale of marijuana for medical use to other medical marijuana facilities located in Chicopee or in another municipality in Massachusetts or elsewhere. (3) In addition to the application requirements set forth in Subsections E and F of this section, a special permit application for a medical marijuana facility shall include the following: (a) The name and address of each owner of the facility; (b) Copies of all required licenses and permits issued to the applicant by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and any of its agencies for the facility; (c) Evidence of the applicant's right to use the site or structure, such as a deed or lease; (d) If the applicant is a business organization, a statement under oath disclosing all of its owners, shareholders, partners, members, managers, directors, 4  officers, or other similarly situated individuals and entities and their addresses. If any of the above are entities rather than persons, the applicant must disclose the identity of the owners of such entities until the disclosure contains the names of individuals; (e) A certified list of all parties in interest entitled to notice of the hearing for the special permit application, taken from the most recent tax list of the City of Chicopee and certified by the office of the Assessor; (f) Proposed security measures for the medical marijuana facility, including lighting, fencing, gates and alarms, etc., to ensure the safety of persons and to protect the premises from theft. (4) Mandatory findings. The special permit granting authority shall not issue a special permit for a medical marijuana facility unless it finds that: (a) The facility is designed to minimize any adverse visual or economic impacts on abutters and other parties in interest, as defined in MGL c. 40A, § 11; (b) The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has approved the applicant’s Phase 1 application. (c) The applicant has satisfied all of the conditions and requirements of Subsections E and F herein; and (d) The applicant has satisfied all of the special permit requirements as outlined in Chapter 275 of the Ordinances of the City of Chicopee. (5) Annual reporting. Each medical marijuana facility permitted under this section shall, as a condition of its special permit, file an annual report to and appear before the special permit granting authority no later than January 31, providing a copy of all current applicable state licenses for the facility and/or its owners. (6) A special permit granted under this section shall have a term limited to the duration of the applicant's ownership of the premises as a medical marijuana facility. A special permit granted under this section shall run with the applicant only and may be transferred only with the approval of the special permit granting authority in the form of an amendment to the special permit along with all information required in this section. (7) Any violation of this section shall be grounds for revocation of a special permit issued under this section. G. Waiver. (1) The City Council, when granting a special permit under this section, may waive setback requirements as outlined in Subsection E above, provided the applicant submits its request in writing and can demonstrate the proposed site will not have an adverse effect upon the surrounding neighborhood. The City Council reserves the authority to require the applicant to produce necessary documentation to support its position. Further, a waiver of setback requirements shall require both the affirmative 5  vote of 3/4 of all of the members of the City Council and shall require a separate vote apart from the main vote on the proposed site. H. Abandonment or discontinuance of use. (1) A special permit granted under this section shall lapse if not exercised within one year of issuance. (2) A medical marijuana facility shall be required to remove all material, plants equipment and other paraphernalia: (a) Prior to surrendering its state-issued licenses or permits; and (b) Within six months of ceasing operations. Councilor Laflamme motion to approve with changes – Councilor Labrie 2nd the motion – motion passed. Committee vote 4 – 0 favorable. ITEM #2 48 Meetinghouse Road – Handicap – Parking Councilor Tillotson stated that review requests went out to Frank Czepiel and Steve Fredericks and we have not received any replies. Councilor Laflamme motion to table – Councilor Labrie 2nd the motion – motion passed ITEM #3 Toronto Street – West side – between 29 and 39 – Parking Prohibited between Driveways. Councilor Krampits stated that the driveways are a car space apart and people have been parking there making it difficult for the residents to get out of their driveways. Councilor Laflamme motion to approve – Councilor Tillotson 2nd the motion – motion passed. Committee vote 4 – 0 favorable. ITEM #4 Minutes – February 10, 2015 Motion made to approve. Motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 6:40 PM. 6