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Developer raises idea of cannabis dispensary while pitching Main and Mill redevelopment in Williamsville
Summary
A developer who owns the former Touch of Brass building and other properties in Williamsville asked trustees to reopen discussion about local cannabis retail rules and outlined possible tax revenue and zoning limits; trustees expressed concern about location and parking.
Michael Huntress, a principal with Aquest Development Company, told the Village of Williamsville Board on Feb. 24 that his firm has acquired several downtown parcels — including the former Touch of Brass at Main and Mill — and is soliciting local input before pursuing redevelopment.
Huntress said one idea he raised with the mayor and a trustee was whether the village should consider opting back into allowing retail cannabis dispensaries. “We would act as a landlord,” Huntress said, adding that his firm would not itself operate a dispensary. He estimated that a dispensary at the Mill and Main site could generate roughly $300,000 a year in local revenue under the state distribution sketched in the presentation and said “3% of the gross sales would come to the village.”
The comment drew questions about how share rules would work in practice. Huntress and board members discussed a county and town role in the revenue split, with Huntress noting that local allocations would be subject to negotiation with the Town of Amherst and that a portion might instead go to the county or town. Huntress also showed a proximity map indicating state licensing rules could limit the village to two allowable dispensary locations along Main Street because of distance limits from sensitive sites.
Trustees and staff raised site-specific concerns. Board members noted tight downtown parking, the condition of an adjacent retaining wall and the parcel’s proximity to Glen Park and the creek as potential obstacles to siting a retail dispensary there. Mayor Hunt said, in response to the presentation, that “there’s plenty of dispensaries in Amherst, in my opinion,” and that village residents had previously declined to permit dispensaries in 2021 after a public hearing.
Huntress described other redevelopment possibilities for the Touch of Brass and nearby properties — mixing storefront retail on the ground floor with residential or office uses above — and asked the board for guidance before pursuing any formal proposals. He said his firm plans to follow up by email and provide brochures and additional information for trustees and staff to review.
The board took no vote on the proposal; trustees treated the session as a preliminary discussion and did not direct staff to draft changes to local code at the meeting.
