South Kingstown The planning board Tuesday discussed amending the towns zoning ordinance to control for the future establishment of medical marijuana-related facilities in the town.
Currently, there is no language in the towns zoning ordinance to address the use of land for medical marijuana related purposes.
This [zoning amendment] would simply add specific use codes to remove any doubt about whether such uses are permitted, explained Amy Goins, a lawyer for the Town of South Kingstown.
The planning board discussed setting regulations in the event that a compassion center a medical marijuana retail facility or a cultivation center a facility at which plants are grown for sale to compassion centers is to come to town.
The thought is, because licensing of these uses are at the state level, to get some zoning in place locally so the town is prepared when and if an application is filed, Goins explained, to examine what zones may be appropriate for these uses and what standards may be appropriate if theyre permitted by special use permit.
State law currently limits the number of compassion centers within the state to three. There are already three existing, including one in Portsmouth, one in Providence and one in Warwick.
Unless the Rhode Island General Assembly authorizes additional compassion centers, such a facility could not locate in South Kingstown.
Ive been told that the General Assembly is considering doing that, given that there are no compassion centers located in Washington County currently, Goins said.
According to state law, these centers must be set back 1,000 feet from a private or public school.
If you think a greater distance is appropriate you can do that, Goins said. The provisions by state law requiring a 1,000 foot setback from a school and the general provisions that these uses have to comply with local zoning, those set a floor for our municipal regulation.
Under the draft addressing the proposed amendment, a compassion center would only be allowed by special use permit in the Old Tower Hill Road/ Dale Carlia vicinity or in the West Kingston vicinity.
The planning board discussed Tuesday the setback distance from residential zoning districts.
According to a map showing potential buffer distances, any buffer greater than 500 feet in the Old Tower Hill Road commercial highway district would prohibit the consideration of a compassion center in that area.
In West Kingston, a large buffer would not be so restrictive.
Its at the boards discretion to figure out how far away from a residential zone you think these uses need to go, said South Kingstown Principal Planner Chelsea Siefert. Whatever buffering you establish would be a measure to protect the residents in the residential districts from an undesirable use.
Planning board member Pam Rubinoff said it would be difficult to determine a setback without more information and community input.
I just remember that people were concerned when there was going to be the drug rehab near the school, she added. I feel like there should be [a setback] but I dont know how to not be arbitrary.
Goins added that state law does not require a city or town to allow either a compassion center or a cultivation center within its borders. It is up to each municipality to either allow for medical marijuana facilities with no conditions, allow for medical marijuana facilities with some conditions, or zone them out entirely.
I dont think there was an intent in state law to make sure that these uses had to be permitted somewhere in each and every town, she said, and I would distinguish it from something like an adult entertainment use, where theres a free speech component and so there are constitutional limitations on what the town can do.
Several municipalities in Rhode Island have enacted zoning amendments to address the use of land for the growing and dispensing of medical marijuana, Goins added.
Without determining what the buffering distance between a medical marijuana facility and a residential zone should be, the planning board, as an advisory body, decided it would recommend that the town council consider adding language into the zoning ordinance to address the possibility of medical marijuana facilities in the town.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Planning Board Looks At Zoning Amendment For Controlling Marijuana-Related Facilities
Author: Kendra Gravelle
Contact: 401.789.9744
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: The Narragansett Times
