The Scarborough Town Council has recently voted in favor of amendments to the marijuana establishment licensing ordinance to tackle concerns related to odor mitigation, alterations in the licensing period, and updates in terminology, specifically replacing “marijuana” with “cannabis.”
The decision to revise the ordinance emerged from the council’s decision to address issues concerning the neighbors of the cultivation establishment located in the Pine Point Overlay District. The modifications were formulated during the Town Council Ordinance Committee meetings held in May and June. All proposed changes have been officially approved and are now in effect.
This is not the first instance where these matters have been addressed. The vicinity near 10 Snow Canning Road has experienced the scent of marijuana over the past few years. The facility situated at 10 Snow Canning Rd encompasses 94,000 square-foot industrial building housing 10-12 cannabis cultivation enterprises. In response to odor complaints, the council’s initial response involved a cannabis control law. The assistant town manager and human resource director, Liam Gallagher, said “we made strides following the prescription for odor mitigation which had a short-term effect in a decrease in the amount of reports we got. But over the subsequent few years, we received many reports of odor in the area of the Pine Point Overlay District, but not exclusively in that area.” Even with all the measures being made, the neighbors were still smelling the facility said Gallagher.
Gallagher said that in the spring, two license applications had been put forward. It was at this point that many of the neighbors came out to express their frustration with the smells. Gallagher stated, “that’s when the ‘abutters’ came out to express their concern about this odor issue.”
To address the matter, the council consulted an odor control consultant. Under their guidance, the town initiated monitoring of weather conditions’ impact on odor strength and its potential mitigation. Another change was to change the air exchange rate requirement from 10 to 15 times per hour.
Originally, the ordinance stipulated that odors must not be detected beyond property boundaries. Gallagher acknowledged the challenge of enforcing this provision, prompting the council’s engagement with an expert. Responsibility for containing the odor was placed on the property owner or landlord of the marijuana cultivation businesses.
“Currently, a moratorium is imposed on new or expanded licenses in the Pine Point Overlay District,” Gallagher said. Cultivation businesses outside this zone are still permitted. The council will convene in October to decide on the future course of action regarding the moratorium.
The revised ordinance also introduces specific regulations for enforcing odor mitigation. Gallagher emphasized the establishment of a standardized complaint evaluation process. If four or more complaints are registered over a four-day period by two different individuals, one of whom shares property boundaries with the cannabis facility, a code enforcer is dispatched. Substantiation of the complaint occurs if the enforcer detects the odor on their initial visit. After the 12th complaint, an odor panel convenes to confer with license holders, who are expected to comply with panel recommendations. Failure to resolve the issue may lead to a hearing with the town council, potentially resulting in license denial.
Gallagher said, “so that is a minimum of 16 complaints, on four different occasions of staff confirming” before the license may not be approved. “Hopefully we don’t get there, to that point of someone losing their business, or to have residents have their personal property be infiltrated with the smell of cannabis,” he said. Gallagher confirmed that some residents have voiced concerns about what the impact on their property value will be with the odor wafting onto their property.
Two other changes were made; terminology adjustments were made, replacing “marijuana” with “cannabis” and the licensing period is now a set period that spans from September to August. A new license will be valid until August 31, regardless of when the application was submitted. Unless the new license is granted during July or August, then the license is valid until August 31 of the following year. The old rule said that each local license issued shall be effective for one year from the date of issuance.
When asked what success would look like in this odor issue, Gallagher said, “I think success is that businesses can continue to be profitable, and residents don’t have any cannabis odor in their front and back yards. Success looks like both coexisting. We have really done a lot of work behind the scenes. We notify the property owners right away if there is a complaint. With that increase in communication and collaboration, I think that the frequency of the issue has declined. I think everyone is cautiously optimistic. I’m feeling more optimistic now than I was four years ago.”
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