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Millis updates host community agreement with 617 Therapeutic and adopts cannabis social equity policy with 50% impact‑fee reduction
Summary
The board approved a revised Host Community Agreement (HCA) with 617 Therapeutic Health Center to align with changes in state law and adopted a municipal cannabis social equity policy that includes a 50% reduction in the community impact fee for eligible applicants.
The Select Board on June 9 approved a revised Host Community Agreement (HCA) with 617 Therapeutic Health Center, an indoor marijuana cultivator and product manufacturer at 1073 Main Street, to bring its local agreement into compliance with recent changes to Massachusetts law and Cannabis Control Commission requirements.
Town counsel and the town administrator worked with representatives from 617 Therapeutic to update the HCA. The applicant said it accepted edits proposed by town counsel, which the applicant characterized as focused on odor and noise provisions. Board members were advised that the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) is the final licensing authority and may require further revisions; the applicant and town said they will submit the revised HCA to the CCC and be prepared to return if the state requests changes.
The board also adopted a town cannabis social equity policy required by state rules. The policy in the meeting packet left an item blank to specify the percentage reduction in the community impact fee for social equity program applicants; after discussion the board set that reduction at 50%. Town counsel explained municipalities may choose a percentage but in practice statutory and CCC rules limit how some fee items may be enforced.
Why it matters: The revised HCA aligns local expectations with state regulatory changes and preserves a local mechanism for addressing odor or noise issues that may arise; the social equity policy implements a required municipal policy intended to reduce barriers for eligible social‑equity applicants.
What the board voted: The HCA and the cannabis social equity policy (with a 50% community impact fee reduction for eligible applicants) were approved unanimously.
Next steps: The town will submit the revised HCA to the CCC for final review; the cannabis social equity policy will be posted and applied to future municipal cannabis permitting processes.
