EASTHAMPTON — Draft regulations on recreational cannabis are set to be reviewed by the City Council next month, and City Councilor Salem Derby is also proposing a local tax of 3 percent on pot sales.
For months, the city’s Planning Board and Ordinance Subcommittee have discussed how Easthampton should approach the new recreational pot industry.
In a joint meeting on Monday, members settled on a draft that will next be reviewed and voted on by the council.
The state’s Cannabis Control Commission is required to have regulations in place by March 15. City Councilor Owen Zaret said the Ordinance Subcommittee will meet on March 20 to review the local and state regulations. He said local regulations are tentatively scheduled to go before the full City Council on April 4.
Easthampton’s regulations would allow for nine brick-and-mortar cannabis retailers, with no more than four cannabis retail sales storefronts allowed in the first year, and an additional two the second year.
The storefronts must also be at least 200 feet from other cannabis retail sites, except in the mill district, and 350 feet from schools.
An earlier draft had the buffer at 200 feet from schools, but Superintendent Nancy Follansbee and Williston Northampton School’s chief financial officer Charles McCullagh pushed for 500 feet, which is what the state has in its draft regulations.
A line in the local regulations for social consumption is left empty in the proposed regulations. Zaret said it serves as a placeholder, adding that the state is holding off on allowing social consumption until next year.
The proposed zoning for cannabis retailers and cultivators allows establishments in the downtown business district, which includes Union and Cottage streets; the highway business district, which includes Northampton Street; the industrial district, which includes O’Neill Street and Industrial Drive; and the mill district, which includes the Pleasant Street mill buildings.