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Taunton council advances revised marijuana ordinance, adopts social equity policy
Summary
Attorney Bond presented a rewritten marijuana ordinance that increases retail licenses from nine to 11, requires applicants or the licensing authority to meet a 33‑point minimum on the council’s scoring matrix to receive a waiver, and transfers licensing to the municipal licensing commission on 01/01/2026. The council also adopted a CCC‑aligned social‑equity policy; a separate licensing‑process document was tabled for further refinement.
Taunton council committees on Tuesday advanced a rewritten marijuana ordinance and voted to adopt a social equity policy aligned with updated Cannabis Control Commission rules.
Attorney Bond, who drafted the revised ordinance, told the Committee on Ordinance and Enrolled Bills that the changes reflect previous council votes and new CCC regulations. "I was able to put together [the] marijuana ordinance based on the votes of the council from previous sessions," she said, describing the principal changes: raising retail licenses from nine to 11 and requiring the council or licensing authority to apply a scoring matrix with a minimum score of 33 before granting a waiver.
The ordinance also creates a temporary subcommittee of the municipal council to review applicants through Dec. 31, 2025, after which responsibility would transition to the licensing commission on Jan. 1, 2026. Bond said the ordinance adds clearer grounds for denial and renewal and formalizes an application (the "taunting application for marijuana establishments") to begin the licensing process with the city clerk.
Councilors discussed several technical edits. Councilor Duarte proposed renumbering subheadings and shifting the formal authority to set hours of operation from the LLA to the municipal council; the change was intended to reflect the pending institutional transfer to the new licensing commission. Several members asked that renewal-application timing be clarified; the council agreed to lengthen the application window from 30 to 60 days to give potential applicants more time to prepare.
Separately, in the Committee of the Whole the council approved a social equity policy Attorney Bond had drafted to implement CCC guidance. Bond said communities that host marijuana establishments must adopt a policy by May 1, 2025; the council voted to adopt the presented policy, which allocates extra points in the matrix for qualified social‑equity applicants and requires a 60% threshold for non‑equity scoring conventions.
Bond asked for more time to refine the staff‑facing licensing‑process document that must be posted to the city website; councilors agreed to table that item so the language can be clarified and tested with staff. The ordinance as amended was moved to a first reading by council motion and carried without recorded opposition. The council did not take a final vote on licensing details and directed staff and counsel to return with the refined documentation.
