{"id":5059,"date":"2022-03-25T01:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T01:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CBMiogFodHRwczovL3d3dy5iZXJrc2hpcmVlYWdsZS5jb20vbmV3cy9zb3V0aGVybl9iZXJrc2hpcmVzL2JlY2tldC1wbGFubmluZy1ib2FyZC1jYW5uYWJpcy1hcHByb3ZhbC10ZXRyYWh5ZHJhLWFndGVrL2FydGljbGVfYWExODFiZGUtYWJjNy0xMWVjLTg2ZDQtYzczMWNjYjYwYTZlLmh0bWzSAQA"},"modified":"2022-03-25T01:30:00","modified_gmt":"2022-03-25T01:30:00","slug":"indoor-cannabis-farm-okd-in-split-becket-vote-berkshire-eagle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=5059","title":{"rendered":"Indoor cannabis farm OK’d in split Becket vote – Berkshire Eagle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BECKET \u2014 A large-scale Becket cannabis farm<\/a> proposed more than a year ago \u2014 then vigorously tracked and opposed by neighbors \u2014 won a long-sought special permit Thursday.<\/p>\n

After hours of earlier hearings attended online by scores of residents, the town\u2019s Planning Board voted 4-1 to allow a Connecticut company, TetraHydra AgTek LLC, to create an indoor marijuana growing facility on Quarry Road, subject to conditions the panel debated at length.<\/p>\n

The project needs other approvals, including from the Cannabis Control Commission and from the town Conservation Commission and Board of Health.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile people may not all agree with a decision that we\u2019ve arrived at tonight, it\u2019s the decision the board has made,\u201d said Robert T. Ronzio, the Planning Board\u2019s chairman.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t remember any time in recent history where we have basically not rendered a unanimous decision,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s important for people in the town to understand that, you know, this is kind of a thankless job at times.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ronzio said he voted to approve the project in part because town residents several times voted in favor of legalizing cannabis and backed zoning bylaws allowing cultivation.<\/p>\n

The applicant needed to secure four votes.<\/p>\n

The farm will erect a 31,310-square-foot greenhouse off Bonny Rigg Hill Road, about a half mile above the Massachusetts Turnpike.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am humbled and I thank you sincerely,\u201d Michael Goodenough, a project partner, told the board after the vote, then addressed opponents. \u201cI look forward to providing you with the first tours of the building to kibosh any of the concerns,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The decision is a victory as well for the couple that owns the land to be used, Jerome J. Schwartzbach and Adrienne K. Metcalf. Both had assailed opposition to the farm and said they had a right to draw income from a lease of their land. \u201cWhere\u2019s our quality of life<\/a> in this mix?\u201d Metcalf asked at the end of a two-hour hearing in February.<\/p>\n

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The approval comes with conditions designed to address concerns about the farm\u2019s impact on the neighborhood, including steps to monitor odor, trees to screen the property and police patrols in summer, among other requirements.<\/p>\n

Once the decision is filed with the town clerk, opponents have 20 days to appeal it to the Berkshire Superior Court, Ronzio said.<\/p>\n

Member Ann Krawet, the board\u2019s clerk, opposed the project, saying she found it to be out of character with the area and not in the neighborhood\u2019s best interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we go forward, we will be opposing what is written in our own bylaws on protecting historic resources,\u201d Krawet said before the vote. \u201cWe would be creating a conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the historic quarry site, now managed by the Trustees of Reservations, \u201cis extremely close to the front of this big building with its ugly fence and not in the character of the neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Member James P. Levy said he voted to approve the special permit in part because the farm will bring jobs to Becket and pay taxes to the town.<\/p>\n

The TetraHydra Agtek project, which eliminated outdoor growing in the face of local opposition, was unveiled in January 2021, then withdrawn and resubmitted in June. Consideration was delayed again as the applicant negotiated a host community agreement with the Select Board.<\/p>\n

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In hearings over the winter, opponents raised questions about the farm\u2019s use of water and the prospect of unwanted odors. Their attorney, Mitchell I. Greenwald, on Feb. 9 challenged whether proper notice had been provided.<\/p>\n

The special permit was opposed by the leaders of two local homeowners\u2019 groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t believe that we have the protections necessary in order to deal with worst case situations as they arise once this begins,\u201d David Edell, who chairs Skyline Ridge Property Owners Association, told the board in February.<\/p>\n

A neighbor on Quarry Road, Beverly Lambert, said she believes the project is a mismatch for the area. \u201cThe proposal \u2026 is not in keeping with the character of our neighborhood,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Tess Lundberg, a year-round resident on Valley View Road, expressed concern about how the farm\u2019s use of water would affect neighborhood wells and the aquifer.<\/p>\n

Goodenough, of Tetrahydra, said at an earlier meeting that the farm would not draw more groundwater than 4.5 households.<\/p>\n

The application had been taken up at a contentious Planning Board meeting in August. The review was delayed when it was discovered that the applicant needed to have a host community agreement in hand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BECKET \u2014 A large-scale Becket cannabis farm proposed more than a year ago \u2014 then vigorously tracked and opposed by neighbors \u2014 won a long-sought special permit Thursday. After hours of earlier hearings attended online by scores of residents, the town\u2019s Planning Board voted 4-1 to allow a Connecticut company, TetraHydra AgTek LLC, to create an indoor marijuana growing facility on Quarry Road, subject to conditions the panel debated at length. The project needs other approvals, including from the Cannabis Control Commission and from the town Conservation Commission and Board of Health. \u201cWhile people may not all agree with a… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5060,"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-5059","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\/indoor-cannabis-farm-okd-in-split-becket-vote-berkshire-eagle.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5059","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=5059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}