Chelsea caregiver says town ordinance changes target existing stores

CHELSEA — A local caregiver took aim Thursday at proposed changes to the town’s medical marijuana retail store licensing ordinances, saying it could be costly for businesses and the town.

The ordinance is designed to set local licensing requirements for medical marijuana retail stores. The only changes from a September draft are the inclusion of a licensing fee — which other types of businesses in town are not charged — and the removal of a definition for “medical marijuana business.”

The draft ordinance does not limit medical marijuana businesses and does not apply to adult-use marijuana establishments, as the town has not opted-in to allowing them.

On Thursday, the town’s selectboard held a second public hearing on the changes, on which residents will vote Nov. 5.

According to the draft ordinance sent to the Kennebec Journal by Town Manager Scott Tilton, medical marijuana retail stores would have to pay a $1,000 licensing fee. Asked how that amount was determined, Tilton said, “There wasn’t a lot of science to it,” adding that the selectboard accepted it when presented with the ordinance after he explained that the stores will require inspections from town officials.

Selectboard Chairperson Deb Sanderson said earlier this week the fee will not be finalized until after the ordinance is passed. Tilton clarified Thursday the ordinance that will go before voters Nov. 5 will include a $1,000 fee, but the selectboard could eventually decide on late fees. He said if residents were not in favor of any aspect of the ordinance, they should vote it down.

Selectman Mike Pushard said he would like to review other town’s licensing fees and he did not know if the proposed fee is too high or too low. In Hallowell, a similar license is $250.

Earlier this week, Sanderson said she supported a lower fee because she did not want to impose an “extraordinary” fee on a “specialty kind of business.” She later said she did not know of any other licensing fees for other types of businesses in Chelsea.

Tilton said the town’s three existing medical marijuana retail stores would all have to obtain licenses to continue operating, but caregivers are exempt. Officials from the three stores all declined the Kennebec Journal’s requests for comment.

Selmer also said the town would only reap $3,000 from the ordinance, and he said it was still unclear how much money the licensing process would cost the town. Particularly, Selmer took issue with a clause in the ordinance that allows the town’s code enforcement officer to request a consultation from an engineer to determine if the odor-control system is sufficient.

He said that consultation could be costly.

Further, Selmer said existing stores may have to close while the licensing process happens and it did not make sense to target them with this ordinance.

Selmer said the town should consider crafting one ordinance to encompass licensing for both adult-use and medical marijuana, adding that businesses would likely try to transition to an adult-use business once state rules enabled them to do so.

Last year, Hallowell began awarding licenses for all marijuana establishments — adult-use or medical — but without a state license for adult-use, an adult-use license could not be awarded.

“We should be trying to give the business here in town the chance to grow,” he said.

Former Selectman Rick Danforth raised the point that ventilation standards on medical marijuana retail stores could apply to other businesses. He said the town previously heard complaints about an auto body shop emanating paint fumes but could do nothing about it because there were no existing regulations on odor.

He said putting these regulations only on medical marijuana retail stores could run the risk of creating “patchwork” rulemaking.

As proposed in the ordinance, the local license’s term would coincide with the term of the operator’s state license for selling medical marijuana. Sanderson said the license could likely be renewed each year for the same annual fee.