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Zoning board approves West Babylon dispensary with security, hours and no-consumption conditions
Summary
The zoning board granted a special-use permit for a retail cannabis shop at 9 Mahan St. in West Babylon with conditions including hours, no on-site consumption, limits on events and requirements for internal delivery vehicle storage and extensive camera security; the board adopted a negative declaration and approved the permit for one year from occupancy.
The Town of Babylon Zoning Board of Appeals voted to approve a special-use permit for a proposed New York State–licensed adult-use cannabis dispensary at 9 Mahan Street in West Babylon, after applicants detailed site upgrades, security measures and operational restrictions.
Rachel Shelfo, the applicant's attorney, said the plan would convert only the front-most unit of an existing industrial building for retail cannabis sales and keep the rear two-thirds of the building as internal storage. "This application would be to convert the 1st unit and the 1st unit only, so the frontmost unit of the existing building for retail cannabis sales," she said, adding that the site would be improved with ADA parking, a new dumpster enclosure and enhanced drainage.
Stephanie Schumann of Leaf Legal, who described the anticipated business model, said the dispensary would operate like a pharmacy or jewelry store with controlled access, ID verification and extensive surveillance; she told the board the applicant expects about six employees on a maximum shift. "Customers will enter through a secured check-in area where identification is verified before entering the sales floor," Schumann said. The architect described a secure vault construction and a single-entry vestibule with a staffed check-in.
The applicant agreed to standard permit conditions applied to retail cannabis uses: set hours (Monday–Saturday 9 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sundays 10 a.m.–8 p.m.), no on-site consumption and no special events. Shelfo and the team said they would limit outside storage and would house any delivery vehicles inside the building; deliveries would be regulated and monitored.
Board members adopted a negative declaration under SEQRA and then moved to approve the special-use permit for one year from issuance of the certificate of occupancy, subject to the conditions listed above and to standard planning and building requirements. The approval included a parking variance from 22 spaces to 19, which the applicant said was triggered by a plans-examiner interpretation that counts office area in otherwise storage units.
The board's motion carried with the conditions read on the record; the permit will be valid for one year from the issuance of the certificate of occupancy, per the board's approval.
