BELCHERTOWN — The Select Board has adopted a new cannabis host community agreement to comply with state mandates despite some members expressing dislike of the policy.
In 2022, the Legislature passed “An Act relative to equity in the cannabis industry.” The law requires municipalities to establish policies that promote cannabis entrepreneurship opportunities to individuals who were disproportionately impacted by criminalization of marijuana. The law adds a “social equity” category on the rubric used by municipalities to evaluate a cannabis business.
“This isn’t something that Belchertown decided to do,” Select Board Chair Lesa Pearson said at the Nov. 17 meeting. “This is really about following the law as it’s outlined.”
Town Planner Doug Albertson explained Belchertown was supposed to adopt these regulations more than one year ago, but received no guidance for the policy. In July of this year, the Cannabis Control Commission released the baseline regulations, putting more pressure on the town to abide by the law.
“Kate (Nadeau) [the town’s communication manager] is itching to get something put on the website so we can comply with the law,” Albertson said. “They (the CCC) threatened noncompliance with some outrageous fines, but I don’t think we’re at too much of a risk if we act in a somewhat timely manner.”
In addition to the social equity change, the state requires municipalities to send an invoice to the cannabis business with any community impact fees. The purpose of the fees are to cover new or enhanced municipal costs that are “reasonably related” to the cannabis business’ operations, and are overseen by the CCC. The board decided the fee would cost legal fees plus $100.
Currently, Belchertown has one active cannabis retailer, North Adams-based Clear Sky Cannabis, and one cannabis distributor, Plymouth-based Atlas Marketplace & Delivery LLC. The town has also issued permits for another retail cannabis establishment, Springfield-based Kalyx LLC. Albertson said that business holds a special permit from the Planning Board that is set to expire for a second time at the end of the year.
Belchertown does not currently have a limit on the number of cannabis establishments in town, but Albertson said the Select Board can change this at any time.
“When were originally discussing this with a very different version of the Select Board, what they were saying was, ‘No limits. We will treat them like alcohol stores. If Palmer will have them and Amherst will have them, why should we not get the benefits of the business if we will also have the problems?’” he said. “So there was no cap put on it. You could probably change that.”
The board adopted the policy in a 3-1 vote, with Select Board member Nicole Miner descending.
“I personally do not like the term ‘social equity,’” Miner said. “It is affirmative action through and through, and I’m completely against it even though we really don’t have a say.”
Select Board member Jon Ritter also preferred a “neutral” rubric. The “equity metric” awards a business points if a majority of its employees have a prior cannabis-related offense or conviction, live in a “Disproportionately Impacted Area” or are of Black, African American, Hispanic or Latino descent. Amherst, Greenfield, Springfield and West Springfield are some of the 30 communities considered disproportionately impacted.
“They’re saying that the state now recognizes this as a legal substance, and they are now making amends for how people were treated in the past,” Select Board member Whitney Jorns-Kuhnlenz said. “Especially since there were targeted communities in profiling.”
Pearson and Jorns-Kuhnlenz said they understand the policy, but do not necessarily support or oppose it.
“I don’t know how I feel about it, but it’s interesting,” Jorns-Kuhnlenz said.