City planners and officials are working towards establishing a suitable location for a future medical marijuana facility in Somerville.

By Jim Clark

The Committee on Land Use’s report of its findings in relation to establishing a medical marijuana facility in Somerville was presented to the Board of Aldermen at their most recent regular meeting on November 24.

The committee met on October 26 and heard recommendations by members of Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD), chiefly Director of Planning George Proakis.

At that meeting, Proakis reportedly provided an overview of the Marijuana Treatment Facilities and proposed locations and informed the members that this item needs to be acted on soon or the process might have to start over.

In brief, the OSPCD recommendation suggests that the proposed facilities should be located in central business districts so that they are visible and allow for access to services. It was further recommended that the city should not wait for the proposed zoning overhaul because there are only a few licenses for the county and Somerville may miss out if regulations are not established. Also, North Point is not listed as a possible district but should be included because Cambridge has a license that may be listed there on the Cambridge site. It was also stated that overlay districts may make sense for siting facilities with more specificity and have ward aldermen input during the mapping of the overlays. Finally, it was noted that signage is a major part of the business and that it should be carefully reviewed.

Alderman at Large Dennis Sullivan briefed the Board on the Land Use Committee’s progress in recommending a site for the proposed facility.

The Planning Director expressed a need for feedback from the Board in terms of recommendations as to where the proposed facility should be located.

A copy of the draft ordinance and a document with maps of Somerville, highlighting some areas being considered for the facility, were distributed to the committee.

Possible locations were discussed at the meeting, including Inner Belt, Mystic Avenue and the area near the Stop and Shop.

Ward 2 Alderman Maryann M. Heuston asked why the Union Square area was not considered as a possible location, adding that she is not comfortable putting a facility in her ward as it is very densely populated and could have day care centers in the neighborhoods.

The members were given written copies of the Planning Board’s recommendations.

Ward 5 Alderman Mark Niedergang stated he is fine with the Planning Board’s recommendation, however, he did suggest ruling out Inner Belt as a possible location and asked that a couple of locations in Ward 5 be removed from the list.

Ward 4 Alderman Tony Lafuente asked for the reasoning of recommending that a facility be located on Mystic Avenue.

Board President William A. White, Jr. felt some information was missing from the recommendation, such as signage size and parking requirements based on square footage and that these issues need to be flushed out and given some consideration before making a decision.

Alderman Heuston asked that the requested information be sent to the committee before the next meeting.

A public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, December 9 at 6:00 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chambers when the Land Use Committee is scheduled to continue its process in resolving the matter.