HATFIELD — A marijuana cultivator is seeking to begin growing cannabis on a small portion of a 38-acre parcel at 139 North Hatfield Road.
Hatfield Farmacy LLC recently entered into a host community agreement with the Select Board and, if additional approvals are obtained from the town and the state’s Cannabis Control Commission, the company could grow recreational marijuana at the site.
Isaac Fleisher, an attorney with Bacon Wilson PC, said Hatfield Farmacy is capped at 100,000 square feet of canopy where plants will be grown.
“Hatfield Farmacy is going to be one of potentially four different tenants on this parcel that will all be adult-use cultivators,” Fleisher said.
The property, zoned in the town’s rural residential district, is owned by James and Lorrie Motyka, but local farmer Bernie Smiarowski told the Select Board that he has a purchase-and-sale agreement to create the campus of marijuana growers. He expects the enterprise, whose principal is Rajiv Srinath, to use 5 to 6 acres of the site.
At its Feb. 15 meeting, the Select Board voted unanimously in favor of the host community agreement, which is identical to others that it has signed, including a required 3% community impact fee and a mandate to pay all local taxes.
Chairwoman Diana Szynal said the agreement doesn’t guarantee that Hatfield Farmacy will get through other municipal and state approvals. The agreement is also contingent on town counsel approving it.
A hearing on a special permit will be scheduled by the Planning Board once a submission is made.
A required community outreach meeting, to answer questions from the public, is set for March 7 at 1 p.m., at a location to be determined.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
