Council asks Planning Board to draft cannabis retail zoning, seeks buffer from schools and limit of one license

The New Shoreham Town Council voted to direct the Planning Board to draft a zoning ordinance to regulate cannabis retail operations, including siting distances from schools, day cares and places of worship, hours of operation and other locational rules.

Council members stressed the town lacks authority to ban dispensaries outright because a prior voter question authorized them; the local control is over location and operational limits. "Whether you agree or disagree... it's not that we can say we don't want dispensaries," the chair said, noting the town's role is in regulating where and how a retail use may operate.

Members proposed guidance for the Planning Board: consider buffer distances larger than those typically used for liquor stores (members suggested anything from a quarter-mile to three-quarters of a mile), assess whether only one retail license should be permitted, and recommend hours limits. The council asked staff to convey that the council's sense is that appropriate sites should be as far as practicable from family-oriented uses and that limiting the town to a single license is preferred.

Planning staff confirmed the state portal for applications is open and that the next step is a zoning ordinance referenced through planning. The council passed the motion to ask the Planning Board to draft the ordinance and to include the guidance described above.

The council did not adopt specific distances or hours at the meeting; instead the Planning Board will prepare an ordinance for council review.