Planners have completed the difficult assignment of accommodating a marijuana dispensary in Biddeford, and the City Council this week made the final decision of how and where such businesses may operate.
With Safe Harbor Maine licensed by the state to do business here, the Planning Board last week laid out sound recommendations for how such a business should be regulated. It proposed allowing a dispensary as a conditional use in part of the city’s business, industrial and medical zones.
The council narrowed this list to just one zone ”“ the Industrial 3 district that includes the site chosen by Safe Harbor Maine from which to supply York County with medical marijuana.
The council ruled out many other potential sites for dispensaries and growing facilities. And by establishing dispensaries as a conditional use, the zoning amendment ensures that applicants must appear before the board to address issues like landscaping, setbacks and traffic before receiving a permit.
The medical marijuana storefront is planned for 460 Alfred St. (opposite the Journal Tribune), a high-traffic location in the Industrial 3 zone. Since it is likely that York County patients will seek this therapy in substantial numbers, parking and traffic safety are important considerations.
And since criminals might be tempted to target such a business, security will inevitably be a concern. Also, landscaping and the dispensary’s storefront should be designed to fit in with the area’s commercial landscape.
Safe Harbor will be permitted to grow a limited amount of marijuana at the site. Otherwise growing facilities are not permitted in Biddeford. By permitting dispensaries in just one zone, the council has limited such enterprises to a small part of the city. This decision to take a cautious approach seems entirely reasonable, considering that this will be one of Maine’s first dispensaries.
The City Council and Planning Board had to act promptly, with the city’s moratorium on marijuana dispensaries due to expire on Sept. 12. And the city’s options were limited. Maine voters had endorsed medical marijuana dispensaries in a referendum last fall, with 60 percent of the Biddeford vote favoring the experiment.
With sound state and local regulations in place, this dispensary should be no more of a concern than a small pharmacy. Safe Harbor is hoping to open its doors by Jan. 1, 2011, and we hope to soon see medical marijuana emerge as a valuable therapy for those suffering discomfort from chronic disease.
— Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Nick Cowenhoven at nickc@journaltribune.com.
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