Special Board To Regulate Pot Shops in Brookline
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BROOKLINE, MA — ” On Tuesday October 29th, Select Board Chair Bernard Greene said concerning the Marijuana problems, “I’m proposing, that we set up such a committee to look at our bylaws but also look at our expenditure of community impact funds and generally provide ongoing advice to the select board.”
Some Brookline residents are asking for more regulations on marijuana retail shops in town because of NETA, the cannibas retailer that opened earlier this year at the corner of Washington and Route Nine. These residents in the Brookline Village area have brought forward these issues:
- Lack of parking
- More litter than normal
- An uptick in people urinating on their lawns
- The Marijuana Shop is open too late.
However, more than $1 million in community impact fees have already been paid to Brookline by NETA and NETA asksed that the town first use those funds to remedy the communities concerns. That is the three percent fee of that NETA makes which Massachusetts stipulates should help mitigate any community impact issues that result from the pot business.
The Brookline Village residents brought forward suggestions to more strictly regulate cannabis shops in town, including moving to an appointment only model and earlier closing times.
Greene responded on Tuesday, “I suggest we prepare a charge for such a task force or committee for the next meeting and seek applications for membership.”
A Special Town Meeting warrant proposal is set to come before the Select Board, and this December the Select Board will hold a hearing for consideration of the renewal of NETA’s and Sanctuary’s licenses.
Several members of the community responded including Max Imus, “Well maybe if they would let more than one recreational spot open in the entire area maybe you wouldn’t have these problems! Imagine if there was only one liquor store.”
Macky D. made the following blog post in response: “Everyone’s angry in Brookline! Everyone’s feeling stressed. Where the people are always surly, and the average age is death. It’s a place where people go to moan, and whine. Nobody’s having a good time, because everyone’s angry in Brookline!”