The Saratoga Springs City Council will open a public hearing at their next meeting Tuesday Sept. 6 on the Weibel Avenue Planned Unit Development near the Hannaford Grocery store east of the I-87 Northway. A public hearing had been open for weeks on the PUD but was closed and the language in PUD has been changed to reflect advisory opinions from land use boards.
Commissioner of Accounts Dillon Moran said he plans to bring a resolution to discuss and vote on the PUD that evening after the public hearing.
The expected passage of the PUD could open the way for the forested land behind the grocery store to be used as a “marijuana dispensary” or “marijuana growing/processing” space. An early proposal for this has already been presented to the city council.
[Read about that proposal here.]
The parcel on the east side of town is a forested area sandwiched between the Hannaford grocery/Tractor Supply retail shopping area and the exit ramp from the I-87 Northway at Exit 15.
The city’s Planning Board has issued two advisory opinions to the city council saying first that they did not support a warehouse use on that location. The parcels cover about 17 acres but discussion of the use as warehousing pointed out that traffic in and out of the space must run along one narrow corridor.
Warehouse use “does not comport with the ‘Community/Mixed Use’ designation" currently attached to the property, they wrote. The second opinion issued in July, said that the board supports the “marijuana dispensary” and “marijuana growing/processing” as possible uses of the undeveloped property.
Under state law, dispensaries will sell recreational marijuana to adults but will not “process” the marijuana. Turning the plant into a consumable commodity, such as pot brownies, will happen at a “processing” location.
Since a PUD is a change in the zoning law, the city council must approve the new use as they would approve other laws. The planning board had also supported a change in the deadline. If passed, a developer would have until 2035 to get a site plan for the property completed.
Sidebar: During the Saratoga Springs City Council meeting Tuesday Aug. 16, Commissioner of Accounts Dillon Moran warned people who wish to get into the dispensary business to take their time and consider the law before leasing a space or setting up shop. The city is still a long way from issuing its first permits, he said.
He said the state will issue licenses to sell or process marijuana first to people negatively impacted by “the war on drugs," adding that it was the social justice element of the law.
As well, the city has decisions to make before anyone can open a store.
“We have to think long and hard about where we want these facilities in our community,” he said, adding a warning to people: “Don’t take steps before you know [that] what you’re doing is allowed.”
In a subsequent interview, he said impacts on traffic will be among his biggest concerns. The Accounts Department will be responsible for issuing permits for these businesses, Moran said.