City Council - Ordinance Committee

Ordinance Committee 9/29/2020 19:00 Meeting conducted via zoom Members present Salem Derby-chair, Thomas Peake, Owen Zaret Meeting was call to order Roll call Minutes from September 1st approve 3-0 (motion Peake, second Zaret) Public Speak Steve Reilly from INSA spoke about the current times for retail cannabis to be open in the city. Stated surrounding cities are open ealier. Would be beneficial for Easthampton to consider opening earlier in order to compete with other cities Cannabis in the highway business district Public input Kot Kosom: Spoke about concerns of caps on overall cultivation size, and set backs. Was concerned about developing on Tasty Top parcel because of effects on view shed. Brenda Salyer, Holly Circle: Questions about the planning board recommendations of 3 acres vs 5 acres David Bouquillon, EHARP group: Discussed incorporating storefront into the design of their proposal. This parcel sits in the opportunity development zone. They are committed to operating for 10 years or more in order to obtain tax breaks. Daniell Marineau: Concern as a property owner about residential setbacks abutting HBD. Feels uncomfortable living next to a cultivation center. Concerned about environmental impact. There is no discussion about environmental impact. Points to city discussions about sustainability The committee deliberated in consultation with the planner. Public input was discussed. The planner and the committee discussed historical zoning and reasoning for this current discussion. Planner reviewed opportunity zones. There was more feedback from the public about concerns for trying to legislate around a specific proposal Councilor Peake noted the complexity of the discussion. Discussed current use of existing buildings, and the now current discussion about allowing new construction. That it is a multilayered issue and not easily resolved. He noted the industry is in a state of uncertainty, we do not know the future of local cultivation in regards to future federal regulations Concilor Zaret talked about zoning must apply to whole district not to focus on one parcel. That we need to have review from the city attorney. Current industry is using existing buildings. Mentioned sustainability. That we have odor control mitigation already in place. Councilor Derby: Dicussed sustainability. Fairness for existing buildings vs new in regards to space available. We need to separate businesses from the overall discussion and discuss zoning and HBD. What about additions? Committee discussed rationale for attaching retail to new cultivation. Cap sizes for cultivation and possible allowances for expansion of existing buildings up to 25000 square feet. Looked to make this fair across the board. **Next meeting set for Wednesday, October 14 at 19:00** PACE The councilors deliberated and discussed the proposal to accept PACE MGL to the city. There was no public comment. There were no concerns on the part of the committee. History of the proposal was discussed as well as approval from the city treasurer. Vote to move to accept pace by full council 3-0 (motion Zaret, second Peake) On motion by council Zaret and second by councilor Peake voted to adjourned 3-0