By NEAL RENTZ //
The Pound Ridge Town Board continues to review the initial draft of proposed legislation that would regulate the operation of cannabis businesses.
The state legalized adult cannabis use in March 2021 and the town board did not opt out of allowing cannabis dispensaries before the December 2021 state deadline.
The only operating cannabis dispensary in Pound Ridge, the Purple Plains Cannabis Dispensary located at 32 Westchester Ave., was opened April 17 by co-owners Sophia Mortell and Mark Buzzetto. The store opened during the initial six-month moratorium on such businesses which the town board implemented in December 2023. The town board extended the restriction on opening new cannabis businesses in June when it passed another six-month moratorium.
At the July 16 meeting, the town board heard a presentation by Malcolm Simpson, a planner from the infrastructure engineering firm Hardesty & Hanover. The firm was hired by the town to develop the legislation, which would mandate special use permit regulations for licensed adult cannabis dispensary use and licensed adult cannabis consumption site use.
Simpson, who wrote the first draft, noted in a memorandum to the town board that the state has the power to regulate the operation, registration, licensing and permitting of cannabis businesses, while municipalities can only regulate such items as hours of operation, location and the manner in which they can be operated.
“Largely, the state is responsible for the licensure,” Simpson stated. Municipalities, on the other hand, “have a very narrow window” to regulate cannabis businesses, he said. Some municipalities have chosen to follow state regulations without adding their own, he also noted, and told officials to expect further changes in coming years to state regulations governing cannabis businesses.
The planner referred to his firm’s research on how other New York towns have regulated cannabis businesses. The town has three primary zoning districts and “there is no reason to allow (a cannabis business) in all of them,” he stated.
In drafting the local legislation, Simpson said, he did not use the current hours of operation for the existing cannabis dispensary, but rather incorporated a townwide standard for all retail businesses.
Town board member Dan Paschkes asked Simpson if the state would allow Pound Ridge to mandate an 8 p.m. closing time for cannabis businesses. While localities can mandate hours of operation, they must allow the businesses to be open 10 hours a day, Simpson said. State regulations prohibit the cannabis businesses from being open overnight, he noted.
There are several regulations that stipulate the distance requirements between cannabis businesses, Simpson said. The state requires that there be at least 2,000 feet between such businesses, he said. “They take that kind of thing very seriously,” he stressed. In addition, the state would not grant a license for a cannabis business seeking to move next door to an existing facility, Simpson said. The state also sets minimum distances from schools and houses of worship, while municipalities also can restrict their proximity to public youth facilities, he said. He said he included distance restrictions from public youth facilities in the legislation’s first draft, but the town board could remove that section if it wished.
Also, Simpson said local planning boards can grant waivers for such matters as parking and facades for marijuana dispensaries, he said. “That waver is very useful for the sake of good planning,” he said.
On the issue of parking requirements, Simpson said he looked at Pound Ridge’s current policy and compared that to what other municipalities have mandated for cannabis businesses. The town board could simply use Pound Ridge’s current parking requirements for retail businesses and restaurants, Simpson said. Paschkes said the board should create parking requirements specifically for cannabis businesses.
During a public comment period, resident John McCown said he had three elements he suggested as amendments to the draft legislation, which he maintained would be consistent with the town code and state regulations. He proposed that cannabis businesses should only be allowed in PB-B and PB-C zones, but not in the PB-A zone because that zone is the most restrictive district and is closest to the town’s historical areas. The town also should require at least 2,000 feet between cannabis stores, which would be consistent with state regulations, he said. In addition, cannabis businesses should only be allowed to operate the minimum of 10 hours a day and stay open no later than 8 p.m., which would also be consistent with state regulations, he said.
Mr. McCown said “47 reasonable individuals” supported his proposed amendments.
“It’s step two of a multi-step process” to craft the legislation, Supervisor Kevin Hansan said. The first step was to immediately release the first draft of the legislation, he said. A future public hearing or hearings on the legislation will be conducted by the town board, Hansan said. “There’s no decision on this tonight,” he stated.
Based on comments during the public hearing, the legislation could be revised further, Paschkes said. “This is only a first look,” he said.
Discussion of the legislation is scheduled to resume at the Tuesday, Sept. 17, town board meeting.
The owners of Purple Plains sued the town, the town board and the town building inspector, James Perry, on Feb. 20 in state Supreme Court in White Plains, alleging that town officials mishandled the filing of the initial moratorium. The dispensary has continued to operate throughout the months the town moratorium has been in effect.
Also at the meeting, the town board scheduled its only public meeting for next month for Tuesday, Aug. 13. Typically, the board conducts its meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of the month.
Netflix filming permit
Also at the meeting, the town board voted unanimously to approve a permit to allow a crew to film scenes for the finale of the fifth and final season of the Netflix scripted series, “You.”
The Long Island City-based Warner Horizon Scripted Television asked for permit to film at two locations — 141 Old Church Lane and the backyard at 95 Conant Valley Road. Shooting is scheduled for Monday, July 29, from approximately 10:30 a.m. to midnight; July 30 and 31 from approximately 3 p.m. to 4 a.m.; and Aug. 1 from approximately 6 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. The shooting would include a crew of 80 with two actors and two stunt performers. Neighbors will be notified of the filming, according to film company.
The film company needed a waiver from the town requirement that filming end at 10 p.m.
“The scenes we wish to film take place at and around a lake house in the woods,” Horizon stated in a memo to the town. “It involves two actors inside the house and then an extended sequence outside in the woods and in the water. It is an important story point that this is all shot during nighttime.”
Horizon Assistant Location Manager Corey Patrick told the board, “We’ve chosen a wonderful spot in the town.” The night shoots are “necessary for storytelling purposes,’ he said.
Paschkes said, “The town has had some serious issues in the past” with filming. Patrick said he would be present at all times during the filming and would heed any complaints from residents.