HADLEY — Before the first marijuana store in Hadley opens its doors, a special permit restricting its cannabis sales to medical products needs to be amended.
An attorney representing the Heirloom Collective Inc., at 457 Russell St., requested that the Planning Board modify the original site plans so the business can sell both medical and adult-use marijuana.
Thomas Reidy, an attorney with Bacon Wilson, PC of Amherst, said reopening the site plans should not be problematic as long as it doesn’t cause issues with the neighbors on that stretch of Route 9, which include the Hampshire Mosque.
The business is located inside a renovated and former Sunoco gas station and initially was held up over concerns about whether it was too close to a place that children commonly congregate.
One issue the Planning Board had in the original approval was whether the business would create traffic issues, with some observing that New England Treatment Access on Conz Street in Northampton impacted its surroundings when it opened in November 2018.
But Reidy said that Rise, the lone dispensary open in Amherst, has not had any impact on neighborhoods near its location in North Amherst near the Hadley town line, with sufficient parking and quick customer service.
“I think you’re starting to see the market regulate,” Reidy said.
Last fall, the Select Board unanimously approved a host community agreement with James A. Counihan, the company’s CEO. The revised host community agreement, which covers both adult-use and medical sales, came prior to the Cannabis Control Commission approving the revised license for The Heirloom Collective.
As part of the agreement, the company will pay 1% of gross revenues to Hadley in the first year, with a minimum of $50,000. This will increase to 2% of gross sales, and a minimum of $75,000, and 3%, and a minimum of $100,000, in the second and third years of the five-year deal.
The agreement also calls for a $2,000 donation to Hadley charities.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
