Tisbury Planning Board addresses marijuana dispensaries

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The Tisbury Planning Board will hold a public hearing at 7:15 pm on Wednesday, March 19, to consider amending the town’s zoning bylaws to address registered medical marijuana dispensaries.

The Planning Board proposes to amend section two of the zoning bylaws to include a new definition of “medical marijuana cultivation” as the land area and space within a building (excluding the areas used for processing or dispensing) where plants are cultivated. A second definition would be added for a “registered marijuana dispensary.”

The Planning Board also proposes to add a section about registered marijuana dispensaries (RMDs) under the zoning bylaw to authorize certain uses for the cultivation, sale and dispensation of marijuana for medicinal purposes only, by special permit within the town’s Business District 2, located off State Road.

RMDs would be included under uses requiring a special permit from the Planning Board in Business District 2 off State Road, which Tisbury has designated as the location for any future medical marijuana business.

The new section specifies general requirements and conditions for all RMDs, including square footage, hours of operation, limitations on location, signage, and remediation for potential discharge of THC and nitrogen into waste water. The new section also includes special permit conditions and restrictions required for RMDs.

Planning Board co-chairman Tony Peak said the proposed zoning bylaw amendments stemmed from discussions with the Tisbury selectmen.

There are a range of possibilities for the dispensaries, from what would be similar to a drugstore or a retail outlet, to a larger version that would be a facility where marijuana is actually being grown and processed,” Mr. Peak said. “The regulations are more extensive from the state about that, and the implications are that the space requirements would be larger. For that combination of reasons, that’s why the Planning Board decided to propose that medical marijuana operations be limited to the B2 business district.”