Move will allow dispensaries in town

State expected to permit 3 to 10 new dispensaries

PORTLAND — The Planning and Zoning Commission has approved a zoning amendment that will add medical marijuana dispensaries to the list of permitted uses in certain zones in town.

Acting on a request from a developer, the commission agreed to add marijuana dispensaries to a list of 58 other permitted uses in B-2 commercial zones. The proposed amendment was submitted by Rosario Agostino, who recently built a row of stores at 185 Marlborough St.

Portland is home to one of six facilities in the state where marijuana can be produced. As of April 24, there were 25,627 registered medical marijuana patients in Connecticut, with most in Hartford, New Haven and Fairfield counties, according to a state Department of Consumer Protection website. In Middlesex County, 1,522 individuals had medical marijuana cards.

Agostino’s proposal was adopted without opposition by the commission. However, concerns were raised by Town Attorney Kari L. Olson and by the Economic Development Commission during the PZC’s review of Agostino’s proposal.

In a letter to the commission, EDC Chairman Elwin Guild said the town “should consider how this use has been handled in other communities and its appropriate placement as it relates to our Plan of Conservation and Development.”

Guild said the town’s planning and land-use office had received “a spate of calls” — the majority from

out-of-state dispensary operators — for clarification of our regulations as they relate to medical marijuana dispensaries.

That attention is “most likely in response to two recent events,” Guild suggested. The first was the state Department of Consumer Protection’s solicitation of applications for medical marijuana dispensaries in the state. The state is expected to permit between three and 10 new dispensary locations.

The second event was the General Assembly’s consideration of bills that would legalize commercial sale of marijuana in the state, Guild said.

In her memo to the commission, Olson pressed for the commission to require a special permit (as opposed just a site plan) to review an application for a dispensary. The designation is critical, Olson said, because a special permit would have “greater control over location, hours of operation, etc.”

PZC Chairman Bruce Tyler said his only concern is whether to allow a dispensary in a B-2 zone. The state will control how a dispensary would operate, he said.

Agostino has signaled that he intends to submit an application for a dispensary once the mandatory 15-day notification requirement of the amendment change has been met. The change will take effect May 1.

Agostino told the commission he will follow the special permit process, which would mean a public hearing would be held to gauge residents’ reaction to having a medical dispensary in town.

The request to amend the zoning regulations in Portland comes at a time when interest in and support for both medical and recreational use of marijuana appears to be growing.

Nine states permit the sale of marijuana. Voters in Massachusetts approved the legalization of marijuana, but sales of the drug have not yet begun.

Neighboring Middletown passed a zoning change in March that allows dispensation of medical marijuana by a licensed pharmacist.

File photo Portland’s Planning and Zoning Commission agreed to add marijuana dispensaries to a list of 58 other permitted uses in B-2 commercial zones. The town is already home to the Connecticut Pharmaceutical Solutions medical marijuana production facility.