{"id":4848,"date":"2022-02-28T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CBMid2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmhhcnRmb3JkYnVzaW5lc3MuY29tL2FydGljbGUvaGVyZXMtaG93LW11bmljaXBhbGl0aWVzLWFyZS1wcmVwYXJpbmctZm9yLXRoZS1yZWNyZWF0aW9uYWwtbWFyaWp1YW5hLWluZHVzdHJ50gEA"},"modified":"2022-02-28T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T08:00:00","slug":"heres-how-municipalities-are-preparing-for-the-recreational-marijuana-industry-hartford-business-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=4848","title":{"rendered":"Here’s how municipalities are preparing for the recreational marijuana industry. – Hartford Business Journal"},"content":{"rendered":"
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At least 30% of Connecticut municipalities have banned or instituted a moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses, according to data tracked by the Department of Consumer Protection, posing serious challenges for the industry as it looks to get off the ground in the months ahead.<\/p>\n

But cities and towns that embrace the sector early on \u2013 at least 12 have established zoning rules permitting adult-use cannabis companies, according to DCP \u2013 will have an advantage in spurring potential economic development activity when the recreational market officially launches, potentially by the end of this year, experts said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no doubt that there\u2019s a commercial sector that\u2019s coming to life out there and it\u2019s focusing on communities where there aren\u2019t currently moratoriums,\u201d said Ed Lavernoich, president of the Bridgeport Economic Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization that advocates for economic and community development in Connecticut\u2019s most populated city.<\/p>\n

Bridgeport has approved regulations allowing adult-use cannabis businesses, as have a number of Greater Hartford cities and towns, including Hartford, East Hartford, Manchester and East Windsor.<\/p>\n

DCP has developed a database that tracks how municipalities are regulating the industry. As of Feb. 22, 38 municipalities have instituted moratoriums, 14 prohibited cannabis businesses, and 12 have greenlit the industry, DCP data shows.<\/p>\n

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Daniel Glissman<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n

\u201cZoning definitely gives more clarity to the process [of opening a cannabis business],\u201d said Daniel Glissman, a partner at Hartford law firm MacDermid Reynolds & Glissman. \u201cIf there\u2019s zoning in place, that helps the applicants, the operators know where they need to be looking for locations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strategic zoning<\/h4>\n

Tracking local zoning rules has become a bit of a cottage industry for firms offering legal and other advisory services to cannabis companies.<\/p>\n

Knowing which municipalities are receptive to the industry is key in determining where prospective companies \u2013 ranging from dispensaries and production facilities to packing companies and delivery services \u2013 can locate their business.<\/p>\n

Even cities and towns allowing adult-use establishments have their own patchwork of rules and regulations that typically restrict where companies can locate.<\/p>\n

Glissman said he\u2019s developed his own database tracking local cannabis zoning rules. So has law firm Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey.<\/p>\n

Jacqueline Kaufman, a partner at the New Haven-based firm, said many local planning boards are still in the early stages of developing zoning regulations.<\/p>\n

Many have enacted moratoriums so they can consult with attorneys and other advisors, and get a feel for what their residents want. She said she remembers a similar wave of moratoriums and bans when Connecticut legalized medical marijuana.<\/p>\n

Kaufman said moratoriums were smart policy in some cases simply because there was so much uncertainty over how the industry would take shape \u2013 including how many licenses would be available for each business type \u2013 after the law passed last June.<\/p>\n

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Jacqueline Kaufman<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n

\u201cThey decided, \u2018we\u2019re going to put this on ice. We are going to adopt a one-year moratorium to study this, have our attorneys and those in the state determine exactly how this is going to pan out,\u2019 \u201d Kaufman said. \u201cThat will allow them to make better decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaufman said many new cannabis zoning regulations are similar to how communities regulate liquor stores and alcohol sales. Liquor statutes dictate things like hours of operation and proximity to other alcohol establishments, and limit sales to certain parts of town.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to see a similar set of rules and regulations applied to adult-use cannabis establishments,\u201d Kaufman said.<\/p>\n

Kaufman said some towns may elect to restrict certain types of businesses, like dispensaries, but permit others, like a grow facility or distributor.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe rural communities are appropriate places to have a grow facility because they are farming communities, [but they may not be a right fit for a retail store],\u201d Kaufman said. \u201cEvery town is going to find a different way to create opportunities consistent with the new law based on their unique situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, the needs of prospective businesses and municipalities can differ. For example, a city like New Haven might not want a cannabis dispensary next to Yale or Southern Connecticut State University, or by a stretch of boutique shops.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat might be the best economically in terms of foot traffic and visibility may not actually be desirable to the town,\u201d Kaufman said. \u201cThey may not want it on their main street where all the shopping is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glissman said what cannabis businesses are in most need of is clarity on where communities stand on the industry.<\/p>\n

Early movers<\/h4>\n

Manchester is one town that didn\u2019t institute a moratorium. Gary Anderson, the town\u2019s director of planning and economic development said Manchester\u2019s Planning and Zoning Commission supported the idea of drafting zoning regulations for prospective businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt provides some options for new businesses that are looking to get started and get ahead of the market,\u201d Anderson said of Manchester\u2019s zoning rules. \u201cWe saw a good deal of interest even before the regulations were passed, with people reaching out and asking about Manchester.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Gary Anderson<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n

In December, Manchester\u2019s Planning and Zoning Commission voted to allow cannabis retail stores in the town\u2019s general business district and comprehensive urban development (CUD) zone. Cultivators can be located in industrial and CUD zones. Both business types must first receive a special exception permit.<\/p>\n

Hartford\u2019s Planning and Zoning Commission signed off on similar rules last year, allowing retail cannabis businesses downtown and in other commercial and industrial districts.<\/p>\n

Hartford City Councilwoman Tiana Hercules is also a budding cannabis entrepreneur. She said she\u2019s finalizing her application to open a retail cannabis business called Lady Jane, and honing in on a potential location in the Capital City. Having zoning clarity makes the complex process of opening a cannabis business a little easier, Hercules said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe location is in the right zoning area, so we\u2019ll go through the permitting process once we have a [letter of intent] signed off,\u201d Hercules said. \u201cHartford is an innovative city and certainly wants to be open to industry that can benefit the community. It creates a buzz, it creates a destination for the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

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HBJ FILE PHOTO<\/p>\n

Tiana Hercules is working on her business plan and social equity license application to open a cannabis dispensary in Hartford.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n

Luke Massirio, a commercial real estate broker with O,R&L Commercial LLC, has worked with landlords and companies looking for cannabis business locations. He said navigating which municipalities permit the industry has been a challenge.<\/p>\n

In addition, many landlords want money up front to take a property off the market, so companies with deeper pockets have an edge in securing real estate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe operators that are going to make it are going to be the ones that put some option money up so that the landlords will actually hold the property for them and not just waste time because there\u2019s no guarantee they will get [a license to operate],\u201d Massirio said.<\/p>\n

Lavernoich, the Bridgeport Economic Development Corporation president, said his city\u2019s zoning ordinance underwent a major overhaul at the end of 2021, that included identifying three specific industrial zones that can host legal cannabis businesses. While he said he\u2019s glad Bridgeport is allowing the industry, some argue the city\u2019s zoning rules are too restrictive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s some people that think we, collectively as [a city], are not taking advantage of the commercial opportunity that\u2019s being presented by restricting [cannabis businesses] to those three zones and not letting things happen on commercial corridors,\u201d Lavernoich said. \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s an unlimited universe of potential sites out there, even in a city like Bridgeport that has a lot of industrial-zoned land. There\u2019s not a lot of inventory available for sale.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At least 30% of Connecticut municipalities have banned or instituted a moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses, according to data tracked by the Department of Consumer Protection, posing serious challenges for the industry as it looks to get off the ground in the months ahead. But cities and towns that embrace the sector early on \u2013 at least 12 have established zoning rules permitting adult-use cannabis companies, according to DCP \u2013 will have an advantage in spurring potential economic development activity when the recreational market officially launches, potentially by the end of this year, experts said. \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt that there\u2019s… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/heres-how-municipalities-are-preparing-for-the-recreational-marijuana-industry-hartford-business-journal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}