HOLYOKE — The City Council and Planning Board are set to discuss fixing a typo in a new marijuana ordinance that has halted the city’s ability to permit new cannabis growers and manufacturers.
On Tuesday, the two bodies delayed a public hearing on the typo and how to fix it until March 8. Despite the continuance of the hearing, however, the topic was in the spotlight Tuesday evening because two marijuana businesses were before the City Council’s Ordinance Committee seeking special permits they need to open shop.
The typo made its way into law last spring, when the City Council voted on an ordinance intended to decrease the required buffer between marijuana cultivators and manufacturers and places where children congregate from 500 feet to 200 feet. However, for some reason the ordinance was instead printed to say that a 200-foot buffer was required from “any other use as listed in Table 4.3 Table of Principle uses” — a table that includes every land use in the city.
A majority of city councilors attempted to fix the so-called scrivener’s error late last year but failed to muster enough votes to correct it after five city councilors voted against a proposed fix, citing air-quality and odor concerns about marijuana manufacturers and cultivators.
On Tuesday evening, two marijuana businesses had their special-permit hearings continued until the Ordinance Committee and Planning Board sort out the typo debacle. One of the businesses, 876 Grow Inc., is looking to open a “micro-cultivation” and processing establishment at 360 Race St. The other, Hybrid House LLC, plans to run a large-scale cannabis manufacturing operation at 55 Jackson St.
Committee chairwoman Linda Vacon said that in addressing the buffer issue, the committee should be looking for a “win win” that pleases both businesses — both newcomers and older investors in the city — and those who are located nearby.
“We will do better for the public, and the adjoining businesses who may not be compatible, to get relief and mitigation to the problems that are being brought to our attention,” Vacon said.
The person most frequently bringing those problems to the City Council’s attention has been John Aubin, the owner of the Open Square mill buildings on Lyman Street. He was present again at Tuesday’s meeting, presenting information about other cities that have more strict buffers and zoning for marijuana businesses. He suggested that smell, as well as air pollution, can be measured and that the city needs to purchase air quality monitors to do so.
“This will greatly enhance the city’s ability not only to monitor air quality but also odors and to track down, when an odor complaint, where it does come from,” Aubin said. “This is evolving technology, I would encourage the city to jump on it early.”
Holyoke has become perhaps the biggest hub for the marijuana industry in Massachusetts as growers and manufacturers buy up or lease space in the city’s many vacant mill buildings and industrial spaces. Businesses have been drawn into Holyoke because of its open-door policy, available real estate and cheap electricity rates — the biggest costs for cannabis growers.
Several speakers at the meeting pointed out that odor is subjective and falls to the perception of any particular person. A consultant presenting on behalf of Hybrid House LLC, which put forward a detailed odor-mitigation plan, said “we have to rely on the collective noises of the people who are sharing the air around the facility.”
At-large Councilor Israel Rivera, who grew up in the lower-ward Flats neighborhood where many marijuana businesses are now located, asked how the city would differentiate whether pollution was coming from the marijuana companies or other businesses that have been operating in the lower wards.
At-large Councilor Tessa Murphy-Romboletti said the city should consider how restrictive current zoning is, allowing marijuana businesses only in the “general industry” zone in the lower wards. She pointed to guidance from the state’s Cannabis Control Commission on the subject.
“Overly strict local zoning in other states has also led to complaints that businesses were crowded into small sections of a municipality, often areas with a vulnerable or low-income population,” the CCC’s guidance says. “One study examined the location of medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles and reported that dispensaries were located in primarily commercially zoned areas with greater road access, density of on- and off-premise alcohol outlets, and percentage of Hispanic residents.”
The Planning Board had voted at its own meeting earlier on Tuesday to postpone hearings on changing the ordinance typo, so the Ordinance Committee followed suit.
A Holyoke firefighter was awarded a “Hometown Hero” honor last week after he revived a man who was having a heart attack last month.
In a ceremony at City Hall, Holyoke Fire Department Capt. Kevin McDonnell was honored for applying chest compressions on a man who had collapsed while ice skating in West Springfield. He was given the award together with Agawam firefighter Bob LaFrance and Westfield firefighter/paramedic Sean Major, who also aided in rescuing the man.
“We just did what we were trained to do,” McDonnell said in a statement provided by City Hall.
McDonnell and LaFrance had been off-duty playing hockey at the Olympia Ice Center. As he was leaving the ice, he heard that there was a man down. The man’s pulse was weak and McDonnell heard “agonal breathing” — a sign that somebody isn’t getting enough oxygen and is close to dying.
“The way Kevin and the others jumped into action and used their training to save that man’s life was awesome,” Mayor Joshua A. Garcia said in a statement. “But I must say, it doesn’t surprise me given the talent, training and individual commitment of our firefighters … Capt. McDonnell has done his department and his city proud.”
On Tuesday, Holyoke Medical Center began offering drive-up COVID-19 testing at the hospital’s main entrance.
The hospital announced that testing would be available on weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those who want to be tested should pre-register by calling (413) 534-2856. That’s the same number people should call when they arrive at the hospital, where they should remain in their car.
The tests the hospital is administrating are not PCR tests. They are molecular and antigen tests that the state has approved. Results will take up to a day and can be accessed online.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.