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Council approves Grow Cannabis retail license; business deemed legally nonconforming to setback rules
Summary
South Berwick Town Council voted 5-0 to grant a retail cannabis establishment license to Grow Cannabis (Easygoing LLC) at 297 Main Street after legal review concluded the store is a lawful nonconforming use despite a 1,000-foot school setback in a later ordinance.
The South Berwick Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday to grant a cannabis establishment license to Grow Cannabis (operating as Easygoing LLC) at 297 Main Street, despite the property sitting within 1,000 feet of a school and a local ordinance that now bars new retailers in that buffer.
The council’s action follows legal review and advice from town staff and the code enforcement officer that the business holds valid prior land-use approvals and is therefore a legally nonconforming use under local rules. Jenny McCabe, the town’s code enforcement officer, told the council the planning board approved the location in 2021 and the property received a positive certificate of occupancy at that time.
The issue arose because the town later adopted a setback requirement that prohibits caregiver retail stores within 1,000 feet of a school. Councilors said they had asked legal counsel whether the retroactive application of that ordinance would strip an existing operator of its right to continue at the site. Town staff told the council the legal opinion recommended approving the new license on the basis that the store’s earlier approvals make the operation legally nonconforming to the newer setback rule.
McCabe explained that the nonconforming status would lapse if the use stops for a year: “If this business had closed, this business closes today and nobody does anything until March 27 next year, we would not have to do this,” she said, describing the town’s one‑year lapse rule. She added that the town would consider the use to lapse sometime around July 25, 2025, if the business were not reestablished.
Councilors who debated the item acknowledged the tension between enforcing recently adopted ordinances and protecting businesses that lawfully opened before the rule change. One councilor urged staff to clarify ordinance language in future updates so that exemptions for existing businesses are explicit.
The council approved the license by voice vote, 5-0.
Why it matters: The decision preserves the operating rights of a downtown retail cannabis business while underscoring how zoning changes adopted after a business opens can leave operators legally nonconforming — and how local councils and staff rely on legal advice to resolve the conflict.
What’s next: Town staff said they will correct ordinance language in an upcoming code update to make the applicability to new versus existing establishments clearer.
