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Springfield council splits marijuana zoning update after heated debate over school buffer and a dispensary’s parking plan
Summary
City staff proposed three zoning changes to marijuana rules: expand where medical dispensaries can locate, change the 500-foot school setback measurement from property-line to entrance-to-entrance, and allow medical co-location at existing adult-use sites. Proponents said the change would enable a busy Boston Road dispensary to add parking; opponents warned the measurement change could let operations move closer to schools. The council separated the three amendments for individual votes but closed the hearing and continued final action to Dec. 15.
Springfield’s City Council on Dec. 8 heard more than two hours of debate over three proposed zoning amendments that would change where marijuana businesses may operate and how the city measures the 500-foot buffer from schools.
The proposals — presented by Phil Drome, deputy director of planning and economic development — would (1) update the zoning use table to allow medical marijuana establishments in the same business and industrial districts already open to adult-use retailers, (2) change the 500-foot measurement from property-line-to-property-line to a straight-line, entrance-to-entrance measurement in accordance with 935 CMR 500.11, and (3) permit medical dispensaries to co-locate within existing, approved adult-use special-permit sites without a new special-permit process but with a Tier 1…
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