Town board hears plan for recreational marijuana dispensary on Wellwood Avenue; decision reserved

The Town of Babylon Zoning Board of Appeals on June 12 heard an application to redevelop a vacant building at 1228 North Wellwood Avenue into a retail recreational marijuana dispensary to be operated under the name Babylon Best Buds Inc., with DJF Unlimited LLC as the State licensee.

The matter matters because the project requires multiple variances from zoning rules — including lot-area and parking variances — and because several residents and board members raised questions about parking, pedestrian access and proximity to Saint Charles Cemetery.

Nicole Blanda, an attorney representing the applicant, said the site is 14,732.77 square feet and “has been certified as meeting the location criteria set in section 166.3,” and outlined a one-way in/one-way out circulation plan, a fenced refuse enclosure in the rear and a proposed recorded easement on adjacent property to provide seven additional parking spaces. She said the site will include a staffed security vestibule, ID checks at the door, a manager on-site with alarm access, 24-hour CCTV with a minimum 90-day playback and secured deliveries through a rear garage door.

Blanda also described operating hours the applicant accepts (Monday–Saturday, 9 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m.) and said product transfers would be performed inside the garage door area to avoid exterior handling. Architect George Badger and other representatives were present to answer technical questions.

Board members pressed the applicant on parking, cross-access and whether delivery vehicles would be stored on site; Blanda said delivery “Sprinter” vans would not be kept overnight on the property and that employee parking would use on-site spaces and the proposed easement. The applicant agreed to planning’s requested cross-access agreement and to planning and fire-marshal conditions listed in the departmental memos.

Public commenter Randy Vanieris, who said he has worked with Saint Charles Cemetery for 35 years, asked whether the cemetery qualification should be treated as a religious property; the board noted the town’s interpretation that the zoning definition at issue does not treat cemeteries as religious properties for the distance restriction cited in departmental review. Vanieris also asked that the applicant be conditioned to keep snow and debris on its own property; the applicant agreed to be “a good neighbor” on snow removal and maintenance.

During the hearing the board moved to amend the application record to list DJF Unlimited LLC as a co-applicant and to correct the address to 1228 North Wellwood Avenue; the board approved the amendment by voice vote. The board closed the hearing and reserved decision, saying the application remains under departmental review and that final action will be mailed to the parties.

The board and planning staff also noted required recorded easements, cross-access agreements and planning-board approvals that must be completed before final permits are issued.

Looking ahead, the applicant will continue to work with planning staff on minor plan revisions, submit required covenants and execute the cross-access easement and any fire-marshal items before the board issues a final decision.