CROMWELL — The Planning and Zoning Commission approved a 30-day moratorium on cannabis retailers as officials work toward enacting an ordinance limiting the number of those facilities in town.
The move, which went into effect Sept. 6, will give Town Council members time to consider whether they want to cap the number of cannabis businesses in Cromwell, planning officials say.
The moratorium won’t apply to the two applications for cannabis retailers on Berlin Road that already have been submitted. One of those applications, which proposed to build a retail shop on 5.3 acres of vacant land at 5 Berlin Road, recently was approved by the PZC.
The application for the other proposed facility, at the site of the old Riverdale Cleaners, will be considered at the PZC’s next meeting.
After approving regulations for adult-use cannabis in May, planning officials said they were thrown a curveball when the state decided to remove a clause in its adult-use cannabis bill limiting the number of retailers and cultivators in a municipality.
Previously, towns and cities with populations of 25,000 residents or fewer were only allowed one retailer and one cultivator, according to the outdated statute.
Now, municipalities can allow an unlimited number of those facilities.
As a result of the change, the commission sought guidance from council members before possibly revising its zoning regulations,
“We wanted to go back to the Town Council to see what their position would be,” PZC Chairwoman Alice Kelly said Friday. “With the changes, we felt it was up to the Town Council whether or not they wanted to have a limit.”
Town Manager Anthony Salvatore said this week that the town attorney is crafting an ordinance seeking to limit the number of cannabis distribution facilities in Cromwell to two. The details of the ordinance still need to be worked out, but Salvatore said he expects it will be ready for the council to review at its Oct. 12 meeting.
“We’re presently exploring all of our options with the town attorney,” he said.
PZC member Michael Cannata said during Wednesday’s council meeting that a moratorium would plug the “potential hole in the dam,” preventing more cannabis retail applications from being submitted so town leaders can decide how to regulate the market.
“We don’t want (a retailer) on every corner. We don’t want to become a Holyoke, Mass., or a Denver, Colorado,” Cannata said. “So (Town Planner Stuart Popper) said let’s do a 30-day moratorium and let’s talk about how we can fix our regulations to reflect more of what it was than what it is at present.”
Cannata owns Bantry Bay Ventures — the business whose application to build a recreational cannabis facility at 5 Berlin Road was approved last week. To avoid a conflict of interest, Cannata has recused himself from any PZC talks involving his company’s application.
austin.mirmina@hearstmediact.com
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