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From YouTube: Committee on Government Operations on July 6, 2021
Description
Docket #0654, ordinance amending CBC Chapter 8-13, Ensuring Equitable Regulation of the Cannabis Industry in the City of Boston; and,
Docket #0655, An Order Regarding a Text Amendment to the Boston Zoning Code with respect to Marijuana Establishments
A
Government
operations,
tuesday
july
6th
and
we're
here
today
for
a
virtual
hearing
on
docket
0654
ordinance
amending
cbc
chapter
813,
ensuring
equitable
regulation
on
the
cannabis
industry
in
the
city
of
boston
and
docket
0655.
An
order
regarding
a
text
amendment
to
the
boston
zoning
code
with
respect
to
marijuana
establishments
preferred
this
both
will
refer
to
the
committee
on
may
12
2021.
A
I
happen
to
be
the
sponsor
of
both
dockets,
along
with
councillor
at
large,
michael
flaherty,
in
accordance
with
chapter
20
of
the
acts
of
2021,
modifying
certain
requirements
of
the
open
meeting
law
and
relieving
public
bodies
of
certain
requirements,
including
requirement
that
public
bodies
conduct
its
meeting
in
public
place
that
is
open
and
physically
accessible
to
the
public.
The
city
council
will
be
conducting
this
working
at
this
hearing
virtually
via
zoom.
A
This
enables
the
city
council
to
carry
out
its
business
while
adhering
to
public
health,
accommodations
publicly
watch
this
working
session
via
live
stream
at
www.boston
city
dash
council
dash
tv
and
live
on
xfinity
8,
rcn82,
verizon
964..
It
will
also
be
rebroadcasted
at
a
later
date.
Written
comments
may
be
sent
to
the
committee
email
at
ccc.go.
A
A
She
will
only
be
able
to
be
here
until
12
o'clock
and
then
I'll
have
counselors
go
and
then
chris
english
from
isd
can
testify,
and
then
we
will
do
a
round
if
need
be
and
then
get
to
the
public.
Docket
0654
is
for
post
ordinance
that
would
amend
the
current
cannabis
ordinance
by
removing
the
zoning
board
of
appeals
from
the
process.
The
proposal
codifies
the
half-mile
buffer
zone
and
maintains
the
objective
that
no
one
area
of
the
city
will
have
an
over-concentration
of
cannabis
businesses.
A
The
zba
we
find
earth
is
no
longer
needed
because
of
the
creation
and
jurisdiction
in
the
boston
cannabis
board.
The
proposal
also
clarifies
that
the
dispensary
is
the
entity
that
will
go
through
the
community
process
when
it
comes
to
deliveries.
The
proposal
includes
conflict
of
interest,
language
and
application
requirements.
A
We
are
so
we
are
here
today
and
again.
My
name
is
council
lydia
edwards,
I'm
joined
by
councillor
ed
flynn
and
counselor
at
large
anissa
sabi
george
we're
going
to
now
turn
it
over
leslie.
As
I
stated
who
is
here
on
her
vacation,
she
will
testify
then
we'll
go
back
to
counselors
leslie
delaney
hawkins
is
a
member
of
the
boston,
cannabis
or
excuse
me
is
the
administrator
of
the
boston
cannabis
board
I'll.
Let
you
go
ahead.
Leslie.
B
Thank
you
counselor,
and
thank
you
for
having
me
again.
I
apologize
I
am
on
vacation.
So
that's
why
I'm
only
here
for
for
the
start,
but
if
there
are
any
questions,
I'm
happy
you
know
after
I'm,
I'm
gone.
I'm
happy
to
schedule
time
to
talk
through
those.
So
obviously
this
body
actually
created
with
the
former
mayor,
the
boston
cannabis
board
as
the
sighting
authority
for
the
city
of
boston,
so
I'm
the
executive
secretary,
so
I'm
the
keeper
of
the
records,
the
administrator
and
the
service,
the
attorney
for
the
board.
B
So
I'm
just
going
to
give
a
quick
overview
of
how
the
board
is
comprised
what
our
process
currently
is
and
then
any
any
questions
or
anything.
The
members
of
the
council
would
like
me
to
touch
on
further.
So
this
is
a
five-member,
independent
board.
That
is
pointed
to
two-year
terms.
Each
member
each
member
has
a
very
specific
area
of
expertise
pursuant
to
the
ordinance.
B
So
there
is
always
a
commissioner-
and
in
this
case
our
chairwoman,
I
kathleen
joyce,
who
has
licensing
experience,
there's
an
individual
with
public
health
experience,
an
individual
with
public
safety
experience,
community,
organizing
experience
and
labor
experience,
and
the
thought
there
is
to
ensure
that
all
of
these
individuals
can
bring
their
own
unique
perspective
to
evaluating
the
proposed
sites
for
these
cannabis
establishments.
You
know,
for
example,
when
we're
looking
at
security
and
operations
plans.
Commissioner
lisa
holmes
who's,
a
former
bps
superintendent.
B
You
know
brings
her
experience
to
the
table
when
we're
looking
about
the
regulatory
and
some
of
the
licensing
pieces.
Chairwoman
kathleen
joyce
brings
her
area
of
expertise,
so
it's
actually
been
very
interesting
to
see
how
each
individual
brings
their
background
to
to
the
table.
So
the
current
process
for
someone
looking
to
cite
a
cannabis
establishment
in
the
city
and
I'm
sorry.
B
Let
me
just
back
up
by
saying
this
board
is
tasked
with
ensuring
equity
in
the
cannabis
industry,
not
just
in
to
whom
these
licenses
go
to,
but,
as
councillor
edwards
said
in
the
geographical
distribution
of
these
licenses
across
the
city,
to
ensure
that
we
are
operating
and
citing
these
in
keeping
with
the
goal
of
the
ordinance
in
both
equity
in
terms
of
the
licensees
themselves,
but
also
for
the
location.
B
So
we
don't
see
in
boston
what
has
happened
in
some
other
cities
across
the
city
where
they
you
see
what's
called
a
green
mile
or
where
one
neighborhood
or
one
area
is
where
all
of
these
are
cited,
and
obviously
the
spirit
of
the
half-mile
buffer
zone
in
the
zoning
code
also
was
seeking
to
accomplish
accomplish
that
goal.
So
currently
the
process,
if
you're
looking
for
to
site
a
cannabis
establishment
in
the
city
of
boston,
you
file
an
application
with
the
boston
cannabis
board,
and
that
includes
all
of
your
disclosures.
B
What
you're
proposing
your
security
and
operations
plan
and
you
file
with
isd
for
the
underlying
use
because,
as
everyone
knows,
there's
nowhere
in
the
city
of
boston
presently,
where
cannabis
is
an
allowed
use?
So
there's
the
way
the
zoning
code
is
written
right
now,
you
will
always
need
zoning
relief,
even
if
you're
not
discussing
the
half
mile
buffers
up.
So
you
move
through
the
process
after
filing
with
the
boston,
cannabis
board
and
isd,
you
have
your
statutory
required
community
meeting.
B
We
obviously
always
encourage
applicants
to
do
more
than
the
bare
minimum
when
they're
working
with
the
community
but
under
massachusetts
general
law
in
order
to
even
be
considered
for
a
host
community
agreement.
That
statutory
meeting
has
to
happen.
So
once
you
have
your
community
meeting,
you
then
request
a
letter
of
support,
opposition
or
non-opposition
from
your
district
city
councillor
as
all
the
members
of
the
council
know
that
you
have
45
days
from
that
date
for
the
counselor
to
take
a
position
which
can
always
be
supplemented
at
the
hearing.
B
B
Currently,
we
have
about
approximately
17
non-equity
applicants
dating
back
two
to
three
years
who
are
waiting
to
be
paired,
and
we
have
a
number
of
equity
applicants
that
are
in
various
stages
of
the
process,
from
just
filing
to
scheduling
the
community
meeting
to
waiting
on
a
position
letter
from
their
district
city
councillor
once
you
are
heard
by
the
board
at
a
public
hearing.
B
If
you
are
granted
a
license
by
the
bcb,
you
will
then
be
scheduled
for
a
zoning
board
of
appeals
here
when
the
bcb
is
evaluating
each
application.
B
Each
commissioner
applies
the
very
specific
criteria
that
is
established
in
the
ordinance
and
obviously
we
make
that
public.
The
scoring
sheet
that
each
commissioner
uses
as
a
guide
is
on
our
website.
We
share
that
with
applicants
and
those
there
are
very
specific
criteria
that
the
that
the
bcb
evaluates
in
determining
whether
an
application
is
appropriate
in
time
place
and
man.
B
If
there
is
an
applicant
who
is
applying
for
a
site
within
the
half
mile,
the
board,
actually
in
its
rules
and
regulations,
understanding
that,
under
the
zoning
code,
the
only
relief
available
to
site
two
establishments
within
a
half
mile
is
a
variance.
So
the
bcb's
rules
and
regulations
actually
mirror
the
legal
standard
for
a
variance
that
would
be
applied
by
the
zba
in
its
respective
process.
B
If
you
are
granted
a
license,
whether
it's
conditionally
or
otherwise-
and
you
are
subsequently
granted
relief
from
the
zoning
board
of
appeals,
you
then
move
on
to
the
state
process.
So
you
cannot
go
forward
with
the
cannabis
control
commission
and
if
there
is
an
application,
they
actually
reach
out
directly
to
the
pcb
in
writing
and
request.
B
Your
municipal
response
notice,
where
we
have
60
days
to
say
this
applicant,
is
either
in
compliance
with
all
of
the
requirements
of
boston
as
a
municipality,
including
zoning
or
it's
not,
and
if
someone
has
not
yet
received
zoning
relief
or
they're
denied
zoning
relief,
then
I
inform
the
ccc
that
they
are
not
in
compliance
and
then
they
do
not
move
forward
with
being
evaluated
at
the
state
level.
One
thing
I
just
wanted
to
flag,
because
I
know
councillor
edwards
was
her.
B
District
was
one
of
the
first,
where
delivery
was
even
being
contemplated
before
any
of
us
really
understood
and
before
the
ccc
had
actually
promulgated
the
final
two
delivery
types
and
the
regulations
for
those.
So
there
are
two
types
of
cannabis
delivery.
The
first
is
courier
only
and
that
is
kind
of
the
ubereats
of
cannabis,
where
it
is
an
approved
cannabis,
delivery
operator
that
is
picking
up
from
a
dispensary
and
delivering
directly
to
consumers.
B
There
is
no
warehousing
component,
so
while
they
will
have
a
base
of
operations,
there's
never
any
cannabis
at
that
site.
It's
where
their
vehicles
are
stored.
It's
where
they
dispatch
from
the
second
is
the
wholesale
model,
and
what
that
allows
an
applicant
to
do
is
to
obtain
product
at
the
wholesale
level
warehouse
it
in.
What's
called
white
white
label,
which
is
rebranding
so
if
it
would
be
leslie's
wholesale
delivery
company,
I
could
pick
up
from
wholesale
at
my
approved
warehouse
site.
B
I
could
then
rebrand
it,
and
then
I
could
deliver
direct
to
consumers,
there's
no
retail
component
at
the
site
of
either
of
those
the
biggest
concern.
I
think,
and
that
we'll
see
I
shouldn't
say
the
biggest,
but
a
significant
concern
that
I
don't
think
the
ccc
under
destroyed
that
was
going
to
have
an
impact
in
boston
is
that
currently,
the
municipality
does
not
have
any
control
of
delivery.
Courier
operators
coming
in
coming
to
one
of
our
approved
cannabis
establishments
and
delivering
directly
to
consumers.
B
So
the
example
that
we're
currently
dealing
with
is,
if
somebody
wanted
to
come
into
berkshire
roots
in
east
boston,
pick
up
product
there
and
then
deliver
directly
to
consumers.
If
that
business
is
located
outside
of
the
city,
the
board
and
the
city
have
no
jurisdiction
over
regulating
those.
So
the
board
recently
held
a
public
comment
period
to
actually
require
that
the
the
cannabis
retailer
itself
will
need
the
board's
permission
to
engage
in
to
engage
in
delivery
with
the
approved
delivery
operator,
and
that
was
so
that
the
board
would
have
some
ability.
B
If,
let's
say
berkshire
routes
were
to
be
approved-
and
you
know
we
get
calls
from
the
counselors
district
saying
that
well,
they're
they're
not
they're
double
parking
they're,
you
know
blocking
the
street
now
the
bcb
actually
has
some
regulatory
authority
to
say
you
can't
continue
operating
that
way,
and
the
other
thing
that-
and
this
actually
came
from
counselor
edwards
and
from
the
council
early
on-
is
that
we
do
not
apply
the
one-to-one
equity
to
delivery
operators
because
for
the
first
three
years
of
delivery,
that
it
is
only
accessible
to
economic,
empowerment
and
social
equity
applicants,
which
effectively
means
that
all
the
goal
is
for
equity
to
be
the
focus
of
delivery.
B
But
when
we're
talking
about
pairing
the
one-to-one
we
didn't
want
to
see
all
of
the
equity
applicants
are
delivery
and
then
all
of
the
non-equity
are
brick-and-mortar
retailers,
which
obviously
is
a
much
higher
barrier
to
entry
in
terms
of
opening,
but
also
very
different
in
terms
of
potential
profit
and
then
the
one
thing
and
then
I'll
stop
and
explain
anything
further,
but
that
I
know
we've
had
a
number
of
conversations
about
is
when
we're
looking
at
the
one-to-one,
equity
and
non-equity
ratio.
B
Should
there
be
exceptions
for
certain
license
types
and
again
we're
just
the
regulators,
so
we're
just
kind
of
expressing
things
that
we've
seen
come
up.
For
example,
we
have
a
lab
applicant
who
is
still
in
the
queue
and
has
been
for
over
approximately
two
years,
they're
non-equity,
but
we
don't
have
any
other
lab
applicants
in
the
entire
city
and
there's
also
a
shortage
of
labs
statewide.
So
again,
this
is
nothing
that
the
board
takes
a
position
on.
This
is
simply
flagging.
B
Kind
of
potentially
unintended
consequences
or
effects
that
none
of
us
could
have
would
have
foreseen
when
we
were
starting
to
get
this
emerging
industry
up
and
running.
So
again,
that's
kind
of
an
overview
of
what
our
process
is
at
the
bcb.
All
of
the
scheduling
is
based
on
dates
and
then
the
equity
to
non-equity
one-to-one
ratio.
B
So
we
do
not
take
somebody
out
of
line
with
the
exception
of
potentially
having
a
conversation
about
uses
such
as
laboratory,
but
that
would
be
a
directive
we
would
be
looking
for
from
the
council
and
the
administration,
so
that
is
kind
of
my
not
so
brief
overview
of
what
the
process
is
right.
A
Now
you
very
much
we've
also
also
been
joined
by
my
the
co-sponsor
of
these
topics.
Council
at
large,
michael
flaherty,
council
flaherty.
We
let
counselor
excuse
me.
We
let
leslie
go
first
because
she's
on
vacation,
she
also
broke
her
foot
and
she
has
a
very
limited
time
frame.
So
we
went
ahead
and
just
went
to
her.
No
one
has
given
any
introductory
remarks.
So
I
was
going
to
now
do
introductory
remarks
from
counselors
and
then
chris
english
would
testify.
C
You
know
that's
great
some
difficulty
getting
on
so
thank
you,
chair
for
pulling
this
together
and
also
remember
the
administration.
C
C
D
A
All
right,
let's
just
go
through
the
other
counselors
and
we'll
start
with
councillor
flynn,
then
counselor
savvy,
george,
then
I'll
go
and
then
we'll
see.
If
council
flaherty
is
back.
E
Thank
you
and
thank
you,
council
edwards,
and
thank
you
councillor
flaherty
as
well
for
putting
this
ordinance
and
zoning
amendment
in
having
this
working
session.
I
also
want
to
say
thank
you
to
leslie
delaney
hawkins
and
chris
english
as
well
for
being
here
and,
as
I
said
at
the
beginning,
I
hope
leslie
is
feeling
better
after
her
her
ankle,
so
hope,
you're
feeling
better
leslie,
so
ensuring
that
we
have
a
fair
and
equitable
process
for
approving
cannabis.
E
Dispensaries
is
important
and
we
also
need
to
ensure
that
this
process
allows
a
full
community
input.
I
have
received
emails
from
chinatown
residents
recently,
who
have
expressed
concern
about
the
proposed
ordinance
and
zoning
amendment.
They
have
noted
that
chinatown
is
a
small
residential
sub-district
and
that
many
residents
live
in
areas
that
are
not
zoned
as
residential
and
that
there
are
many
daycare
centers
that
might
not
count
as
educational
facilities.
This.
E
This
is
common
in
my
district,
especially
in
many
immigrants
communities
as
well,
but
again,
I'm
here
to
listen
about
this
ordinance
and
in
amendment
and
how
looking
in
how
the
process
will
continue
in
the
impact
that
we'll
have
on
on
neighborhoods-
and
I
also
just
for
the
record
just
want
to
mention
that
we
had
a
controversial
hearing
recently
at
the
zba
and
the
on
on
cannabis
on
k
street.
It
was
voted,
zba
voted
against
it
and
all
of
a
sudden
they're
doing
a
re-vote
for
some
technical
reason
in
my
residence.
E
My
constituents
in
south
boston
are
very
concerned
about
this
re-vote.
So
maybe,
if
chris
has
an
opportunity
to
answer
that
question,
you
know
if,
if
the
zba
votes
on
an
issue,
and
then
someone
wants
to
do
a
re-vote,
you
know
you
just
can't
do
it
because
you
lost
the
game.
You
know
if
the
bruins
lost
in
the
playoffs
game
in
the
seventh
game,
you
can't
say:
well,
let's
do
a
let's
do
a
regain.
Let's
have
another
game
because
we
lost
so
you
probably
can
sense.
E
A
F
Thank
you,
madam
chair,
and
thanks
to
the
lead
sponsors
for
today's
conversation
effort,
that's
underway.
I
don't
have
much
for
opening
statements
other
than
just
very
interested
in
today's
conversation
and
how
we
can
improve
this
process
going
forward
thanks,
madam
chair,
and
thank
you
chris
and
leslie
for
joining
us
just
a
special
note
of
thanks
to
leslie,
especially
she's,
on
vacation.
Thank
you.
C
Hopefully
that
is
better
and
thank
you
to
the
memphis
administration
leslie
chris
and
chantal,
who
and
my
colleagues
who
are
here
as
the
lead
sponsor
of
the
buffer
zone
amendment.
The
intention
of
the
buffer
zone
amendment
was
to
prevent
the
clustering
of
cannabis
facilities
and
to
ensure
that
they
were
spread
equitably
throughout
the
city.
C
Currently,
we
have
both
the
boston,
cannabis
board
and
the
zoning
board
of
appeals
weighing
in
on
the
process,
which
I
think
leads
to
considerable
unpredictability,
particularly
at
the
zba,
where
they
don't
always
adhere
to
local
zoning,
as
well
as
the
lack
of
clarity
for
residents
and
proponents
alike.
C
So
it's
it's
unclear
two
too
many,
including
myself
how
the
buffer
zone
is
weighed
throughout
the
bcb
process,
if
at
all,
that
needs
to
happen
and
also
how
it's
weighed
at
the
zba,
which
it's
been
inconsistent
so
and
I
think
we
we've
we've
seen
we
received
a
letter,
I
think
from
from
one
of
our
colleagues
the
chairways
and
means
citing
some
of
those
examples
in
her
district.
C
C
So
so,
if
we're
going
to
fully
empower
the
bcb
to
make
these
decisions,
I
I
just
want
to
make
sure
that
we're
you
know
we're
doing
it
with
a
clear
criteria
that
we
anticipated
and
fully
expect
that
the
the
buffer
zone
will
be
respected
and
applied,
and
also
looking
forward
to
hearing
the
testimony
you
know
as
as
part
of
a
robust
legislative
process.
So
I
appreciate
madam
cheers
partnership,
obviously
and
and
look
forward
to
bringing
more
clarity,
more
predictability
and
more
transparency
to
the
process.
A
Have
two
letters
from
colleagues
who
couldn't
be
here
today:
I'm
going
to
read
them
into
the
record.
The
first
is
from
a
city
councillor
at
large
julia
mejia
you're,
madam
chair
members
of
the
committee
on
government
operations.
A
I'm
writing
to
inform
you
of
my
absence
up
today's
hearing
on
the
committee
in
the
committee
on
government
operations
on
docket
zero,
six
five
four
ordinance
and
mending
dbc
chapter
813
8-13,
ensuring
equitable
regulation
of
the
cannabis
industry
in
the
city
of
boston
and
dock
at
0-655,
an
order
regarding
a
text
amendment
to
the
zoned
boston
zoning
code
with
respect
to
marijuana
establishments
due
to
a
previously
scheduled
engagement.
I
will
not
be
sitting
in
as
the
chair
of
small
business,
ensuring
that
we
are
creating
systems
for
equitable
access
to
cannabis.
A
Establishments
is
key
towards
addressing
the
fundamentally
racist
war
on
drugs.
We
will
follow
along
with
interest
and
follow
up
as
necessary,
sincerely
julia
mejia
boston
city
council
at
large
and
then
from
councillor
box.
She
asked
that
I
read
the
her
letter
in
its
entirety
into
the
record
dear
edwards
and
counselor
flaherty.
I
regret
that
I'm
not
able
to
attend
this
morning's
hearing.
A
Although
a
member
of
my
team
will
be
watching
and
making
detailed
notes,
thank
you
for
raising
this
important
issue
of
the
interplay
between
the
boston,
candice
board
and
the
zoning
board
of
appeals
in
the
sitting
sighting
process
for
cannabis
establishments.
I
want
to
stress
that
my
constituents
in
district
8
regard
the
half
wild
buffer
as
an
important
piece
of
achieving
an
even
roll
out
of
this
new
industry
across
the
city,
rather
than
following
the
default
economic
pattern
of
clusters
in
just
a
few
neighborhoods.
A
A
number
of
the
communities
I
represent
are
denser
with
residents
than
any
other
part
of
the
city,
yet
are
often
regarded
as
commercial
zones
by
those
who
live
further
outside
of
the
center.
As
the
council
to
these
downtown
neighborhoods,
it
is
important
to
me
to
represent
their
voices
in
this
process.
I
emphasize
this
point
because,
while
I
have
been
the
boss
seen,
the
boston
cannons
board
do
remarkably
thoughtful,
equitable
and
diligent
work
in
grading
applicants.
A
My
constituents
in
the
back
bay
have
seen
four
locations
all
within
the
same
buffer
zone,
go
to
the
bcb
and
all
be
approved,
with
arguments
related
to
the
buffer
zone
appearing
to
not
weigh
meaningfully
in
the
balance.
The
zba
rejected
one
of
these
locations
sandwiched
between
two
residential
buildings
last
month,
but
the
decision
of
the
bcb
to
let
the
application
even
proceed
to
that
point.
Despite
the
challenges
of
the
site
and
a
half-mile
rule,
was
a
great
frustration
to
many
of
us.
A
Therefore,
while
I
agree
that
the
zodiac
board
of
appeals
does
not
have
the
same
specialization
in
the
cannabis
industry
as
the
bcb
and
that
the
b2b
would
be
better,
more
informed
authority
to
consider
not
just
the
operator
of
their
plans
but
also
the
sighting
and
the
half-mile
rule,
I
could
only
support
the
reassignment
of
responsibility
proposed
in
this
ordinance.
If
we
also
established
clear
criteria
by
which
the
bcb
would
need
to
evaluate,
citing
appropriateness
and
clearly
higher
bar
and
a
clearly
higher
bar
for
any
exception
to
the
half-mile
rule.
A
Otherwise,
my
concern
is
that
citing
appropriateness
and
half-mile
rule
and
being
removed
from
the
jurisdiction
of
the
zba
would
be
removed
from
consideration.
Altogether
again,
I
apologize
for
being
unable
to
make
this
morning's
hearing
and
I
look
forward
to
a
future
working
session
and
then
I'm
going
to
go
very
briefly
and
turn
it
over
to
chris
chris
english
from
isd.
So
again,
I'm
the
lead
sponsor,
along
with
counselor
flaherty
on
this
matter,
and
I
wanted
to.
A
This
was
inspired
by
the
fact
that
my
district
has
been
the
first
and
often
been
on
a
back
and
forth
inconsistent
understanding
of
how
to
deal
with
cannabis.
When
we
had
to
deal
with
the
zba
in
the
half-mile
buffer
zone,
we
ended
up
with
an
one
of
the
applicants
who's
still
in
the
process,
trying
to
get
his
a
local
applicant
from
east
boston
still
trying
to
get
his
cannabis
license
from
this
from
the
state
and
through
this
process,
and
while
a
corporation
berkshire
roots
was
able
to
just
walk
in
and
take
advantage.
A
I
think
of
honestly
inconsistent
rules
and
lack
of
clarity
and
by
virtue
of
the
fact
they
stood
in
line
on
the
same
day
at
the
cba
is
the
reason
why
one
applicant,
an
iraq
veteran,
a
latino
man
born
and
raised
in
east
boston
is
still
waiting
to
open
up
his
cannabis
establishment
and
the
corporation
is
fully
open
and
making
money,
as
it
is
right
now
so,
and
I
find
that
frustrating
because
the
zba
really
didn't
weigh
anything
else.
They
literally
let
one
go
through
and
then
held
up
the
buffer
zone
to
the
other.
A
Another
example
of
frustration
of
the
process
and
the
industry
kind
of
getting
ahead
of
clarified
process
is,
we
were
dealing
again
with
the
same
corporation
and
they
wanted
just
simply
to
have
a
delivery
and
they
had
a
delivery
company
come
in
and
that
delivery
company,
having
been
unaware
of
the
promises
made
by
this
corporation,
to
not
have
a
news,
a
certain
loading
area
behind
them.
The
delivery
company
just
simply
presented
themselves
the
community
and
was
then
ripped
apart
and
we
found.
A
I
found
that
to
be
disgusting
on
the
part
of
the
the
corporation
to
set
that
business
up,
and
I
also
said
it
didn't
make
any
sense
that
a
delivery
company
should
be
going
through
a
community
process
at
every
single
site
that
delivery
company
wants
to
deliver.
If
you
have
the
money-
and
you
are
physically
there
as
a
huge
corporation
and
as
a
dispensary-
and
you
want
to
add
to
your
business
opportunities,
then
you
should
do
the
community
process
and
you
should
present
that
to
the
community
and
that's
what
also
this
is
proposing.
A
At
the
end
of
the
day,
the
boston,
canada,
sport
did
not
exist
when
we
had
legalization
of
marijuana
and
that's
why
the
zpa
ended
up
in
this
conversation
to
begin
with,
and
that
is
why,
as
council
flaherty
noted,
he
had
come
up
with
a
half-mile
buffer
and
text
amendment
to
make
sure
there
was
no
concentration
of
cannabis
industry
or
dispensaries
in
any
one.
Neighborhood,
the
entire
city
of
boston
overwhelmingly
voted
to
legalize
cannabis.
A
That
is
a
fact,
and
so
the
entire
city
of
boston
should
have
both
the
benefits
burdens
and
whatever
that
comes
with
a
new
industry,
and
we
also
believe,
quite
frankly,
we
need.
We
are
tasked
by
the
state
to
make
sure
it
is
as
equitable
as
possible
and
to
undo
a
lot
of
the
harms
done
by
the
war
on
drugs,
specifically
with
this
particular
product.
A
The
first
is
the
zoning
amendment
itself,
as
people
mentioned
it's
based
on
the
text
amendment
and
it
would
basically
make
it
would
still
have
cannabis
as
a
forbidden
use
residential
areas,
but
it
would
be
allowable
use
in
commercial
areas
and
it
would
take
out
the
half
mile
buffer
zone
in
the
donate.
A
The
half
mile
buffer,
however,
is
put
back
in
in
the
ordinance
that
controls
the
bcb
the
boston
cannabis
board,
and
that
is
also
what
we
are
proposing:
an
ordinance
that
one
deals
with
the
issue
of
the
delivery
and
the
one
for
one
and
making
sure
deliveries
and
dispensaries
are
not
considered
the
same
for
the
equity
applications.
A
It
strikes
the
conflict
of
interest
disclosure
and
ethics
provisions
for
the
board
members
and
it
does
codify
the
half-mile
buffer
zone
and
it
will
still
allow
for
again
community
still
allowing
for
exceptional
or
exceptions
to
that
with
community
support
special
circumstances,
statement,
proximity
of
hardship,
exception,
a
statement
on
that
and
negative
impact
statement,
so
happy
to
beef
up
what
those
what
those
standards
are
for
branding
an
exception
to
it.
A
I
understand
quite
firmly-
and
I
believe
quite
firmly
that
we
don't
want
a
concentration
of
this
industry,
but
the
vba
no
longer
is
necessary
in
this
conversation,
and
it
is
not
consistent
when
it
is
part
of
this
conversation
and
it's
confusing
and
oftentimes
causes
a
lot
of
perfectly
fine
applicants
to
lose
tens
of
thousands
of
dollars
in
waiting
and
and
to
be
very
frank.
Sometimes
it
comes
down
to
very
personal
people.
A
So
I'm
going
to
turn
this
now
over
to
to
chris
english,
who
is
from
isd,
you
can
speak
a
little
bit
about
the
voting
amendment
and
then
I'm
going
to
open
up
for
brief
questions
from
counselors,
and
then
we
have
again
some
people
who
signed
up
for
public
testimony,
including
gabriel
camacho
desiree
franjo,
elliot
laffer
who's.
The
chair
of
the
neighborhood
association
of
back
bank,
gabriella
camacho,
excuse
me,
is
from
ufcw
local
1445
and
desiree.
Frangill
is
an
equity
applicant.
So
chris.
H
Concert
thank
you
and
thank
you
for
having
me.
My
name
is
chris
english,
I'm
the
chief
of
staff
from
the
inspectional
services
department-
I'm
just
here
today
to
offer
my
I
don't
really
have
a
presentation
or
anything
but
the
opening
of
a
cannabis
establishment.
The
process
itself
is
inherently
tied
to
isd's
internal,
permitting
processes,
as
well
as
the
cannabis
boards
and
we're
you
know
attached
at
the
hip
from
the
start
to
the
finish
there.
So
I'm
here
really
to
answer
any
questions
you
have
about
about
the
process.
H
I
don't
want
to
take
up
too
much
time
by
you
know,
making
any
any
large
presentation,
but
just
to
say
that
all
applications
for
opening
a
canada
establishment
do
require
a
long-form
permit.
Application
to
change
the
use
and
occupancy
of
a
property
requires
a
whole
set
of
construction
documents
to
be
submitted
to
us.
We
review
for
compliance
with
the
building
and
the
zoning
code
and,
in
all
cases
currently
where
cannabis
establishments
are,
are
not
allowed.
H
Those
applications
are
automatically
denied
and
must
go
through
the
zba
process
to
obtain
a
variance
and
or
a
conditional
use
permit
for
that
use
in
that
particular
location.
H
So
we
that
process,
we
utilize
the
timing
for
those
hearings.
It
consistent
with
how
the
cannabis
board
also
schedules
their
hearings
in
a
particular
order.
The
community
process
is
done
in
conjunction
with
the
cannabis
board
process
and
we
do
not
schedule
a
cannabis
application
before
the
board
of
appeal
until
we
receive
notice
from
the
cannabis
board
and
from
the
neighborhood
services
that
that
community
process
has
been
completed,
so
we
send
them
to
the
board
and
that's
how
it
rolls.
H
But
you
know
at
risk
of
overstating
the
simple
I'm
just
here
in
case
you
have
any
questions
about
any
any
part
of
isds
or
the
cba's
administrative
process.
D
A
You
to
the
councils
that
are
on.
We
have
some
really
actually
good
count
community
testimony.
Would
it
be
okay
if
I
actually
just
went
ahead
to
them
again,
while
leslie's
still
here
for
the
hour
councillor
flynn?
Are
you
okay
with
that
yeah.
E
I
just
wanted
to
ask
chris
that
one
question
about
the
south
boston
site:
if
it's
not,
if
it's
not
a
problem.
A
E
At
all,
okay,
so
so
chris,
can
you
explain
to
to
me
and
my
constituents
why
why
are
we
doing
a
re-vote
on
the
k
street
site
after
it
was
determined
that
the
the
board
voted
against
against
the
proposal?
You
know
I'm
against
it.
I
know.
Council
flaherty
is
against
it.
The
residents
are
against
it
and
then
it
was
voted
against
denying
it
and
then
all
of
a
sudden
we're
doing
a
revo.
What's
what's
the
reason.
H
So
counselor
in
that
instance,
it's
it's
not
a
re-vote
on
the
application
itself.
The
applicants
during
the
previo,
the
actual
hearing
raised
some
concerns
about.
It
sounds
like
from
my
understanding
some
technological
difficulties.
They
are
asking
the
board
for
approval
for
reconsideration,
so
the
the
re-hearing
is
not
a
hearing
of
the
whole
application
itself.
What
they
are
asking
for
is
approval
to
be
reconsidered
by
the
board.
In
light
of
those
challenges.
E
H
It's
not
a
defined
thing.
The
board
could
say
sure
we'll
bring
you
back
for
a
hearing
at
a
later
date.
That's
that's
up
to
the
board.
E
But
but
also
they
could
have
it
at
the
same,
the
same
time
at
the
end
of
the
day,
which
is
which
is
next
week.
So
I
you
know,
my
constituents
are
asking
me
these
these
difficult
questions
and
I
I
don't
like
to
be
unprepared
and
and
not
represent
them
effectively.
We
had
a
vote
in
the
in
zba,
voted
against
it
and
now
we're
coming
back
and
look
for
reconsideration,
and
you
know
if
the
board
decides
to
reconsider
it.
We'll
have
the
hearing
again
that
day
and
we'll
have
the
vote
that
same
day.
A
Specifically
about
that,
I
think
all
the
city
is
wondering
why
and
how
this
got
rescheduled
and
honestly,
we're
all
wondering
if
this
could
happen
in
any
one
of
our
neighborhoods
because
of
our
time
crunch
counselor
flynn,
if
it's
okay,
on
the
specific
case
of
the
south
boston
and
its
reconsideration,
if
we
can
table
it,
while
we
have
leslie
and
then
we'll
go
to
the
ordinance
and
okay,
I
see
you
nodding.
Thank.
E
A
Thank
you,
okay,
so
also
who's
also
joined
us
as
speakers.
It's
a
former
city
councilor
mike
ross
and
also
joe
ruggierio,
who
is
not
at
all
in
any
way
shape
or
form
speaking
on
behalf
of
the
zba,
but
he
is
a
member
of
the
cba.
A
So
I
am
checking
to
see
if
elliot
lapper
and
I
apologize
is
available
and
then
gabrielle
gabriel
excuse
me.
Camacho
will
speak
after
him
and
then
desiree.
So
I'm
just
calling
those
folks
in.
Let
me
see
if
you're
on
the.
D
D
G
I
My
video
to
line
up
with
with
your
sister,
I
am
elliott,
laffer,
I'm
chair
of
the
neighborhood
association
back
bay.
Let
me
join
everyone
else
in
in
wishing
leslie
a
a
quick
recovery
and
and
and
she
shouldn't
try
to
sign
up
for
the
red
sox
just
yet
they
seem
to
be
doing
okay
without
her.
I
I
want
to
speak
to
this
and
madam
chair
and
I
have
a
concern
with
the
with
the
proposal,
and
the
concern
is:
is
that
the
board,
which
I
think
is
the
the
cannabis
board,
which
is
a
very
diligent
board?
I've
had
the
privilege
to
appear
before
them.
I
think
three
times
now
they
clearly
take
very
seriously
what
they're,
doing
and
and
see
that
that
a
big
part
of
their
role
is
the
establishment
promotion
of
this
new
industry
in
the
city,
which
I
think
it
is
a
big
part
of
their
role.
I
The
back
bay
and
other
downtown
neighborhoods,
but
I
can
only
speak
to
ours-
is
perhaps
a
little
different
than
some
others,
because
we
are
very,
very
close
to
the
commercial
district.
I
live
in
a
building
on
commonwealth
avenue.
I've
lived
there
for
45
years.
47
years,
I
think,
and
if
you
cross
the
alley
you're
in
a
commercial
district
and
if
this
is
an
allowed
use
and
a
distributor
wanted
to
go
across
the
alley
from
me,
which
is
oh
15
feet
from
my
house.
I
That
would
be
something
that
I
would
have
less
of
an
of
an
opportunity
to
weigh
in
on
not
necessarily
opposed
but
weigh
in
on
than
I
do.
If
it's
a
conditional
use
because
of
of
the
significant
impact
that
they
can
have
liquor
stores,
which
I
analogize,
if
that's
a
word
liquor,
stores
and
and
marijuana
dispensaries
is
very
similar
operations
and
liquor
stores
are
a
conditional
use.
I
Restaurants
are
conditional
use
because
they
can
have
more
impact
than
a
typical
clothing
store,
let's
say
or
the
retailer,
and
so
the
opportunity
to
weigh
in
on
these
is
is
very,
very
important,
and
that
doesn't
mean
we
wind
up
not
opposing
probably
90
percent
or
more
of
those
that
we
see,
and
we
in
fact
didn't
oppose
one
dispensary
that
came
to
us
on
boylston
street,
and
we
expect
not
to
to
oh
and
didn't
oppose
the
canvas
board
and
expect
not
to
oppose
at
the
at
the
board
of
appeals.
I
A
second
dispensary
that
came
in
front
of
us.
We
did
oppose
the
one
that
was
that
was
defeated
at
the
board
of
appeals
last
week
and
which
had
been
approved
by
the
cannabis
board,
in
spite
of
the
fact
that
that
it
is
directly
adjacent
to
an
apartment,
building
where
the
people
were
very
very
opposed
to
it.
I
I
think
that
the
the
boards
have
different
missions.
It's
also
not
clear
to
me
what
the
appeal
process
would
be
from
the
from
the
board
of
appeals.
If
you
are
a
and
a
butter,
that's
a
tough
challenge
to
meet
to
to
be
in
a
butter.
But
if
you
have
a
butter
and
have
legal
standing,
you
can
go
to
court
to
challenge
a
ruling
that
you
think
is
is
not
appropriate,
not
sure
how
you
would
do
that
coming
out
of
the
cannabis
board.
I
One
of
the
cannabis
board
members
said
that,
well
we
we
see
opposition
from
the
neighborhood,
but
we
typically
see
operations
from
the
opposition
to
the
neighborhood.
It's
just
people
who
you
know
think
that
maybe
the
industry
is
a
good
idea,
but
not
where
I
am
and
that's
not
what
we
did
and
I
found
that
distressing
when
they
didn't
note
that
we
didn't
oppose
someplace
else.
So
the
the
messages
don't
or
the
missions
don't
particularly
line
up
between
the
two
boards
and-
and
I
think
that
this
is
right
now.
I
What
is
what
exists
is
not
that
different
from
what
exists
in
the
alcohol
regulation,
which
is
a
which
is
a
similar
legal
product.
So
I'm
concerned
that
we
lose
some
benefit.
I
I
understand
the
the
the
concerns
about
the
board
of
appeals
and,
and
I've
been
dealing
with
the
board
of
appeals
on
issues
for
a
very
long
time,
and
it's
certainly
not
perfect,
but
then
very
few
of
us
are
so
I
I
raised
those
as
concerns
with
that,
with
all
respect
to
the
job
that
that
it's
doing
and
and
I'd
also
know,
one
other
thing
that
that
impacted
on
that
first
case
in
east
boston,
which
was
clearly
ludicrous,
is
looking
at
these
in
isolation.
I
And
that's
actually
what's
happened
here
in
the
in
the
cases
we've
dealt
with
in
the
back
bay.
We
get
each
one
one
at
a
time
and
if
we
go
and
say
well,
we
know
we
have
another
one
coming
next
week
or
two
weeks
from
now.
It's
no.
We
can't
consider
that
that's
coming,
because
we
have
to
consider
this
one
and
if
we
consider
the
second
one
better
than
the
first
now
we
have
a
problem.
And
how
do
we
express
that?
I
So
I'm
not
sure
that
this
change
gets
at
that
issue,
because
applications
still
get
heard
at
the
cannabis
board,
one
at
a
time
and
they're
going
to
hear
whichever
one
gets
their
first
in
in
in
in
the
way
that
they
that
they
set
up
their
agenda
you're
not
going
to
sit
and
and
listen
to
four
or
five
of
them
and
say
well,
we
like
these
two
or
this
one
or
whatever,
within
this
buffer
zone,
hope
I
haven't
spoken
too
long,
and
I
hope
that
that's
that
that's
clear
and
if
you
have
questions
for
me,
I'm
happy
to.
D
A
And
desiree
speak
and
then
we
hopefully
we
still
have
leslie
for
a
couple
minutes.
I
know
I
would
love
to
also
get
an
answer
to
the
appeal
process
from
the
boston
cannabis
board
or
what
standing
of
butters
would
have,
but
we're
going
to
go
now
to
gabriel.
J
J
You
may
know
us
in
boston
as
the
faces
of
stop
and
shop
macy's,
td
garden
and,
more
recently,
the
cannabis
industry
ufcw
represents
over
ten
thousand
cannabis
workers
throughout
the
nation
and
in
massachusetts.
Local
1445
represents
hundreds
in
grow
facilities,
manufacturing,
processing,
packaging,
consumer
service
and
delivery.
J
All
under
union
contracts
with
union
pay
scales
benefits,
including
pension
plans
and
union
representation
for
this,
mostly
younger
workforce.
Since
cannabis
is
a
more
than
a
billion
dollar
industry
in
massachusetts,
these
workers
must
have
union
protections
as
well
financed
national
cannabis
companies
are
swallowing
up
smaller
producers.
J
J
J
We
agree
with
the
criteria
for
evaluation
of
an
applicant
and
would
only
add
that
criterion
number
two
employment
plan
could
be
stronger
by
adding
a
labor
peace
agreement,
as
it's
indicated
in
page
four
of
the
boston
cannabis
board
scorecard.
Thank
you.
A
So,
do
you
have
some
proposed
language
for
that
scorecard,
or
would
you
like
to
fence
them
over.
J
I
I
will
forward
that
to
you
and
other
city
councillors
in
by
the
end
of
today.
K
Here
today
I
I'm
very
well
invested
in
the
cannabis
industry
I
have
been
since
the
laws
were
passed,
I'm
a
lifelong
resident
of
boston.
My
grandmother
worked
35
years
selling
food
out
of
her
house
baking
and
cooking.
My
mom
has
worked
two
and
three
jobs
for
over
40
years.
We've
worked
really
hard.
K
You
know
to
be
able
to
own
our
own
property
here
and
to
be
able
to
overcome
the
challenges
that
minorities
have
to
overcome
growing
up
in
in
the
city
and-
and
so
you
know
today,
I'm
here
after
a
few
years
of
helping
another
social
equity
applicant
massachusetts
citizens
for
social
equity
in
their
community
process
to
attain
three
hcas.
K
It
really
made
me
aware
of
how
you
know
the
zoning
around
these
cannabis
properties
are
affecting
us.
We
go
through
so
many
barriers
just
to
even
find
the
property
to
build
the
capital
and
and
the
zoning
process
that
that
we're
having
today,
where
you
know
the
zba
has
to
give
the
final
approval.
It's
really,
I
think,
harming
social
equity
applicants
so
yeah,
that's
something
I
would
love
to
see
changed.
I
feel,
like
you
know
they.
They
were
needed
at
the
beginning,
and
now
we
have
this
great.
You
know
cannabis
board.
K
I
think
that
we
have
a
lot
of
counselors
and
city
officials
like
miss
edwards
and
other
city
councilors
that
are
doing.
You
know
great
a
great
job
at
at
making
sure
that
this
industry
does
benefit
the
people
that
were
most
affected
and
and
that's
what
I
would
love
to
see
for
the
city,
I'm
looking
forward
to
be
being
able
to
tell
my
daughter
these
stories
in
about
30
years
and,
and
you
know
just
highlighting
how
all
these
great
people
were
on
the
right
side
of
history.
K
So
you
know,
I
think,
right
now
we're
facing
enough
challenges
as
social
equity
applicants.
I'm
now
applying
for
a
location
and
that's
gonna
be
a
huge
challenge
for
me.
I
have
my
whole
family
invested
in
this.
You
know:
we've
we've
all
put
our
capital
together,
we've
you
know
worked
very
hard
and
and-
and
it
feels
like
you
know-
this
is
everything's
coming
to
fruition.
K
Now
and-
and
you
know,
having
the
zba
removed
from
the
process
would
definitely
make
our
lives
easier
and-
and
you
know
not
feel
like
we're,
investing
all
this
money
to
to
be
shut
down
by
you
know,
residents
who
have
the
financial
resources
to
to
kind
of
fight
you
at
the
zba
level.
So
I
thank
you
guys
for
giving
me
a
moment
to
speak
today.
K
I
I'm
just
really
happy
to
be
here,
I'm
very
grateful
for
my
city
for
the
counselors,
for
the
boston
cannabis
board
and
for
all
these
social
equity
applicants
who
are
not
giving
up
and
are
are
just
trying
to
follow
their
dreams,
regardless
of
of
the
barriers
thrown
at
them.
So
thank
you
for
your
time.
K
A
Mute
I'm
on
music,
I'm
wondering
why
no
one's
doing
anything
and
I'm
because
I
talk
to
nobody,
I
apologize
so
I
I
said
we
have
leslie
for
about
10,
more
minutes
and
and
then
I
wanted
to
go
to
george,
ariel
and
mike
ross,
who
are
also
signed
up
or,
and
if
you
could,
you
know
quickly
answer
some
questions
leslie
and
then
we
can
have
them
also
testify.
Maybe
maybe
you
can
stick
around
for
theirs
as
well.
Go
ahead,
leslie.
B
Absolutely
so
the
question
about
what
the
appeal
process
would
be.
This
is
an
administrative
body
board
just
like
the
zba,
so
it's
the
same
legal
standard
that
the
relief
would
be
in
superior
court
and
it
would
be
the
same
as
an
action
appealing
a
decision
of
the
zoning
board
of
appeals,
so
there's
no
separate
process
and
what
the
this.
So,
when
a
local
licensing
authority
in
this
case,
it's
the
bcb
allows
an
applicant
to
move
forward
with
the
state
process.
B
The
cannabis
control
commission
look
at
very
different
criteria:
they're,
really
looking
at
at
your
background
checks
at
your
financials
at
your
your
security
and
operations
in
terms
of
your
vaults
and
your
your
locking
mechanisms,
and
things
like
that,
so
the
appeal
would
not
be
to
the
state
agency.
It
would
be
in
superior
court
just
like
it
would
be
with
the
zoning
board
of
appeals.
D
Thank
you
very
much
so
we're
going
to
go
to,
I
think
it's
mike
ross,
then
joe
ruggiero
and
then
we'll
have.
L
I
want
to
thank
the
council
for
your
leadership
in
this
area,
the
first,
the
buffer
legislation
that
counselor
flaherty
put
forward
the
equity
legislation
that
councilor
jamie
and
yourself
madam
chair,
put
forward,
and
now
this
I
think
it's
a
it's
a
good
natural
next
step,
and
I,
as
a
former
city
council.
I
appreciate
the
public
policy.
L
Initiative
by
the
council,
I
think
it's
the
most
important
thing
you
can
do
and
I
think
good
public
policy
is
very
important
and
I
say
good
public
policy
as
an
attorney
who
will
you
know
not
be
if
this
is
successful
appearing
before
this
board?
So
it's
it's
probably
financially,
not
in
my
interest
to
support
this
legislation.
L
You
know
I
will
not
be
in
front
of
his
own
board
for
a
cannabis,
but
that's
that's,
okay.
I
think
I
think
it's
more
important
to
have
good
public
policy,
and
I
really
think
this
is
where
you
should
be
going
on
that.
So
I
mean
the
background
you've
heard
in
2016
massachusetts.
Voters
voted
for
this.
L
The
legislature
adopted
it
boston,
voters
voted
for
it
and
in
some
communities
that
vote
was
upwards
of
70
percent
and
higher,
and
despite
all
of
that,
opponents
have
figured
out-
and
you
know
cannabis
is
a
controversy-
it's
still
controversial-
we're
like
in
1934
right
now
with
alcohol,
it's
the
equivalent
of
that
when
alcohol
was
was
prohibited
in
the
united
states.
L
I
believe-
and
you
know
a
group
of
10
20
residents
have
figured
out
that
you
can
just
show
up
at
the
zoning
board
of
appeal
and
kill
something,
and-
and
that's
essentially
what's
happened
so
far-
about
10
of
the
applicants
that
have
been
approved
by
the
boston
cannabis
board
that
have
then
been
approved
by
the
ccc
that
has
then
had
in
terms
of
provisionally
approved
then
had
a
host
community
agreement
signed
a
binding
contract
signed
between
the
city
of
boston
and
the
entity
and
spending,
I
would
say,
not
tens
of
thousands
of
dollars
a
ma'am
chair,
but
anywhere
from
my
estimate,
is
around
a
quarter
million
to
a
million
dollars.
L
Then
getting
to
the
zoning
board
of
appeal
only
be
told
that
it's
not
going
to
happen.
The
intent
of
the
state
legislation
was
to
quote
control
the
production
and
distribution
of
marijuana
under
a
system
that
licenses
regulates
and
taxes
the
businesses
involved
in
a
manner
similar
to
alcohol,
and
that's
not
what's
happening
here.
The
sale
of
alcohol
only
requires
zoning
relief
in
certain
parts
of
the
city.
L
The
the
sale
of
cannabis
requires
zoning
relief
in
every
part
of
the
city.
You
need
a
conditional
use
permit,
and
I
think
the
looming
issue
here
is
that
the
zoning
board
of
appeal
is
denying
conditional
use
permits,
not
because
of
the
statutory
requirements
why
they
should
be
denying
it.
If
that's
a
thing,
but
because
of
this
bias
that
occurs
when
when
when
the
residents
show
up
I'm
an
attorney
you're
an
attorney
madam
chair
so
is
counselor
flaherty.
L
I
know
attorney
hawkins,
who
did
a
great
job
today
is
an
attorney
as
well.
There
might
be
others,
but
the
the
seminal
case
here
is
crittenden
hastinghouse
in
the
appeals
court
in
1988,
where
crittenden's
tasting
house
provides
abortions
and
they
wanted
to
open
a
nursery
which
required
a
conditional
use.
L
Permit,
just
like
cannabis
requires
conditional
use,
permit
neighbors
got
together
and
they
opposed
it,
and
even
though
that
the
applicant
presented
data
to
the
board
that
that
cured
the
traffic
issues
and
the
other
issues,
the
board
voted
against
it
and
the
the
the
appeals
court
overruled
and
overturned
that
that
decision
in
1988,
and
they
said
it
was
arbitrary
and
capricious
that
it
was
clear
that
what
was
happening
here
is
that
there
was.
L
There
was
bias
due
to
the
underlying,
in
this
case,
abortion,
but
now
we're
seeing
that
happen
here
with
with
the
issue
of
cannabis,
and
so
the
problem
is,
you
can
be
denied
by
the
board
and
then
make
the
case
statutorily
that
you
were
incorrectly
denied.
But
you
know
what
you're
out
of
luck
now,
you're
a
year
or
two
years
down
the
road,
some
judge
somewhere
says:
okay,
you
were
right.
L
The
board
was
wrong
and
you're
gonna
now
get
your
license,
but
by
then
philip
morris
has
already
moved
into
cannabis,
and
these
these
entrepreneurs
are
shut
out.
In
the
end,
this
just
simply
comes
down
to
fairness.
I
mean
there's
a
role
for
elected
officials
in
this
they
can
mediate
issues
around
hours
of
operations
and
and
logistics
and
how
these
things
can
work,
but
simply
because
someone
doesn't
like
cannabis
is
not
grounds
for
shooting
and
shooting
it
down.
I
heard
that
this
was
being
analogized
to
losing
or
winning
a
a
hockey
game.
L
This
isn't
this
isn't
a
game.
These
are
established
rights
that
have
been
codified
in
courts
over
decades
and
people
have
a
right
to
go
forward
and
open
their
businesses.
It's
not
about
winning
or
losing
a
game,
it's
about
preserving
fairness,
case
law
and
allowing
good
public
policy
to
go
forward
in
the
city.
So
I'm
you
know
happy
to
answer
any
questions.
I
obviously
feel
strong
about
this
I'd
also
say:
ma'am
chair.
You
have
a
lot
of
ability
to
finesse
this.
You
know
you.
There
are
certain
things
that
could
stay
at
the
zoning
board
with
po.
L
In
terms
of
you
know
you
could
you
could
have
the
buffer
zone
stay,
you
could
not
have
the
buffer
zone
stay.
You
could
you
know,
there's
a
lot
you
can
do
here
and
I
think
it
should
hit
all
the
things
that
your
colleagues
want.
I'm
just
glad
you're
doing
it
and
it's
again
you
you
know
hats
off
to
you
doing
some
great
things
over
there
and
appreciate
the
opportunity
to
come
in
and
say
hello.
D
Thank
you,
joe
gerrio,
then
shane,
hyde
and
then
ryan
g.
M
Well,
just
at
12
o'clock,
so
good
afternoon,
madam
chair
members
of
the
three
members
of
the
council,
my
name
is
georgero.
I'm
a
small
business
owner
in
east
boston.
I
happened
to
serve
on
the
zoning
board
of
appeals,
but
have
no
I'm
here
today
as
a
public
resident
of
of
east
boston
in
support
of
consular
edward's
text,
amendment
to
the
zoning
quote
code,
which
would
make
cannabis
establishments
and
allowed
use
in
business
in
zoning
districts
that
already
favor
favor
business
uses.
M
The
docket
today
I
think,
will
help
streamline
the
issuance
of
cannabis.
Licenses
will
put
the
experts
in
the
field
at
the
home
of
deciding
where
these
establishments
should
be
licensed
and
which
companies
are
the
ones
that
we
want
doing
business
in
our
communities.
As
mentioned
earlier
today.
M
In
the
hearing,
it
is
it's
very
rare
that
100
of
the
wards
in
boston
agree
on
something
and
that's
how
the
vote
broke
in
2016,
where
every
single
award
in
the
city
95
of
the
precincts,
voted
in
favor
of
recreational
use,
cannabis
and
as
as
previously
mentioned,
it's
tied
to
liquor
licenses
in
that
legislation
and
liquor
licenses
liquid
distributors
packaged
to
us
things
like
that
are
allowed
in
certain
business
districts
already
under
the
zoning
code.
So
at
fair
minimum.
M
It
should
at
least
mimic
that,
if
not
everywhere
in
business
districts
since
that
vote,
auntie,
it
seems
anti-marijuana
advocates
have
been
given
repeated
opportunities
to
swing
and
exert
their
will
over
the
will
of
the
voters.
I
don't
think
the
intent
of
the
countless
community
meetings
and
abutters
meetings
and
council
hearings
and
zoning
hearings
and
cannabis
board
hearings
and
all
the
other
endless
gatherings
of
residents
and
stakeholders
ever
thought
that
that
would
be
what
would
happen.
M
But
that
seems
to
be
the
unintended
consequences
if
you
attend
any
of
these
meetings-
and
I
was
a
past
president
of
orient
heights-
neighborhood
council,
you
see
that
very
clearly
that
the
stigma
of
marijuana
use
is
alive
and
well.
I
would
like
to
just
point
out
that
I
myself
don't
consume
marijuana,
I'm
a
person
in
long-term
recovery.
I
haven't
had
a
drink
or
a
drug
since
july
of
2009,
so
this
is
no
like
personal
stake
for
this
at
all.
M
To
me,
it's
just
the
right
thing
for
our
community,
I
believe
from
a
land
use
perspective.
These
establishments
are
legal
businesses
in
the
commonwealth.
Now
they
should
be
able
to
operate
where
other
businesses
operate.
It's
a
highly
regulated
industry
very
few.
Other
industries
that
I
know
of
have
as
many
stringent
state
and
local
guidelines
on
on
where
to
operate
and
how
to
operate,
requiring
a
conditional
use,
primitive
permit
is
just
repetitive
and
and
frankly,
overburdens
them.
M
The
current
process
is
so
arduous
that,
in
fact,
it
just
perpetuates
the
inequities
in
this
industry.
The
endless
run-through
of
community
meetings
it
it
gets
expensive,
as
previous
testimony
is,
as
alluded
to
the
additional
step
of
obtaining
the
conditional
use
permit.
It
can
cause
a
small
local
business
to
fail
before
it
even
has
a
chance
to
open.
On
the
other
hand,
the
well-funded
corporations
will
absorb
this
additional
expense
and
come
through
the
other
side
triumphant,
and
that's
just
it.
It
defeats
the
whole
purpose
of
the
equity
of
equity.
M
In
this
we
also
have
business
districts
that
could
use
a
boost
that
have
vacant
storefronts,
that
that
have
been
felt
the
squeeze
of
the
pandemic
of
the
the
changing
economy,
and
these
businesses
can
be
seen.
It
should
be
seen
as
a
way
to
to
boost
these
empty
storefronts
to
to
get
businesses
back
into
our
communities
to
get
the
neighborhood
shopping
districts
off
their
feet
again,
and
not
all
these
business
districts
are
within
a
half
mile
of
each
other.
You
know
the
the
case
in
east
boston,
central
square,
maverick
square
are
very
different
places.
M
If
you
talk
to
two
residents,
they're,
just
very
different
places
and
what's
happened-
is
this
measuring
game
of
where
a
half
mile
ends
and
where
it
doesn't
end
and
not
all
half
miles
equal,
some
half
miles
in
boston
have
a
hundred
or
a
thousand
residents.
Other
half
miles
have
tens
of
thousands
of
residents
and
those
things
need
to
be
taken
into
account.
The
will
of
the
vote
is
very
clear
on
this
right
on
the
legislation.
M
Stringent
legislation
has
already
been
enacted.
A
simplified
process
can
also
be
transparent
and
can't
hold
the
applicants
accountable,
and
I
think
this
is
one
step
to
getting
us
there.
Thank
you
for
the
time
today.
A
Very
powerful
testimony
and
thank
you
for
bringing
up
your
recovery.
Thank
you
for
in
general,
everything
you
just
said.
I
I
think
I'll
quote
you
going
forward.
Not
all
half
miles
are
the
same,
which
is
true.
Thank
you.
I
think
shane
shane
was
next
chain
shane
hyde,
and
then
I
had,
let's
see
brian
and
then
maria
maloney
or
malone.
I
apologize
if
I
mispronounced
your
name,
go
ahead.
Shane.
N
Thanks
counselor
yeah,
my
name
is
shade:
hyde,
I'm
the
ceo
of
an
equity
applicant
here
in
boston.
I
want
to
thank
the
council
for
giving
me
the
opportunity
to
test
testify
today.
N
I
really
just
want
to
quickly
touch
on
my
experience
with
the
bcb
and
offer
them
their
due
praise
and
what,
how
they've
approached
this
new
industry
here
in
the
city
as
a
board
who's
immersed
themselves
into
the
industry
since
they
have
been
founded,
they
have
shown
that
they
probably
consider
like
all
the
aspects
of
of
cannabis
and
what
it
would
mean
for
particular
locations
in
the
city
and
they're
also
willing
to
work
with
applicants
such
as
myself
to
improve
operations
and
business
plans
to
make
it
the
best
possible
application
possible
and,
as
someone
who's
worked
with
other
municipalities
across
the
commonwealth.
N
This
is
something
that
just
hasn't
been
done,
and
so
the
fact
that
that
they
are
working
with
the
applicants.
The
fact
that
they're
that
they've
immersed
themselves
into
the
industry.
This
is
how
it
should
be
done,
rather
than
say
at
a
mayor's
office
or
a
select
board,
or
something
who
just
see
this
industry
in
passing
and
so
putting
the
decision
making
power
into
the
hands
of
those
experts
who
have
taken
time
to
understand.
N
The
industry,
I
think
is,
is
a
really
really
good
and
imperative
for
the
city
yeah
just
quickly
just
wanna,
again,
thanks
the
boston,
campus
board
and
leslie
for
all
the
work
that
they've
done.
I
hope
she
enjoys
her
vacation
and
thanks
again
for
the
city
council
in
in
setting
up
and
enacting
this
board,
which
I
think
is
a
great
example
for
across
the
commonwealth
and
for
some
of
these
other.
N
You
know,
metro
areas
that
will
be
coming
along
the
lines
in
terms
of
legalization
states
that
are
now
on
the
precipice
of
getting
where
massachusetts
was
three
years
ago,
and
I
think
you
know,
as
obviously
the
boston,
the
heart
of
the
state.
You
know
those
are
what
those
other
big
cities
are
going
to
look
at
and
so
setting
up
councils
like
this.
I
think
it's
just
setting
a
great
example
for
for
the
rest
of
the
country.
Moving
forward-
and
you
know,
there's
there's
been
hiccups
and
whatnot.
O
N
And
now
they're
coming
around
to
what
doing
what
massachusetts
was
doing,
doing
what
boston
is
doing
and
putting
the
the
experts
and
those
who
understand
history,
the
industry
in
charge
of
you
deciding
which
businesses
you
move
forward
and
which
one
should
not.
So
thank
you
again
for
the
testimony
and
again
I
think
it's
a
big
support
of
change.
Thank
you.
D
A
D
More
public
testimony
and
stay
in
contact.
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
I
think
I
had
brian
and
then
maria.
A
A
D
P
Thank
you.
Thank
you
so
much
for
this
time
today.
To
be
honest,
I
literally
found
out
about
this
hearing
15
or
20
minutes
ago,
so
I
don't
really
have
very
well
prepared
comments.
However,
I
have
been
involved
with
the
process
for
the
license
licensing
of
an
establishment.
P
I
am
a
resident
on
east
first
street
in
south
boston,
and
the
first
thing
I
would
like
to
say
is
you
know
we
keep
hearing
about
the
fact
that
we
voted
for
cannabis
and
I
and
I
will
say
I
did
vote
for
the
legalization
of
cannabis.
P
The
hearing
that
we
attended.
We
got
a
very
short
notice
of
the
hearing.
We
were
not
able
to
really
prepare
for
something
that
was
going
to
be
significantly
impacting
us,
and
you
know
we're
really
treated
quite
dismissively,
even
though
I
think
we
had
some
very
reasonable
concerns.
P
Just
to
say
that
you
know,
we
didn't
feel
as
a
neighborhood
that
really
there
was
any
credentialing
of
the
applicant,
and
you
know
really
felt
that
the
process
was
very
much
a
rubber
stamp
process.
P
I
think
if
the
boston
canvas
board
is
going
to
be
given
any
additional
responsibility,
you
know
that
needs
to
be
better
clearly
defined,
and
I
think
potentially
there
needs
to
be
a
different
process
for
determining
who
the
members
of
that
board
are.
P
Having
the
applicant
have
to
go
to.
The
zoning
board
is
not
simply
because
of
cannabis.
Our
current
zoning
regulations
prohibit,
or
I
shouldn't
say,
prohibit,
but
you
know
having
a
retail
establishment
in
our
neighborhood
is
a
conditional
use.
Any
retail
establishment-
and
I
think
it's
important
to
continue
to
you
know,
be
able
to
protect
the
regulations.
P
So
again,
I
thank
you
for
your
time.
Today
again,
I
apologize
that
my
comments,
weren't
better
well
thought
out,
as
I
I
didn't,
have
advanced
notice
of
the
meeting,
but
I
strongly
strongly
encourage
you
to
seriously
consider
making
any
adjustments
to
the
boston
cannabis,
board's
current
responsibilities
and
purview.
Thank
you.
A
Thank
you
very
much
and
just
your
comments
were
perfect.
First
of
all-
and
I
appreciate
that-
that's
where
we
go
to
the
public
to
hear
directly
about
the
impact
of
decisions
that
we
are
potentially
going
to
make
and
for
you
to
push
or
move
our
decision
making
in
language
so
number
one
and
then
number
two.
If
you
want
to
just
send
an
email
with
some
bullets
that
maybe
add
additional
suggestions.
A
D
Q
Q
Okay,
I
apologize.
I
was
just
informed
of
this
and
decided
to
jump
on
for
just
a
quick
minute.
I
listened
to
mike
ross,
who
spoke
on
behalf
of
cannabis
owners,
and
the
in
all
of
us
that
have
gone
through
are
are
going
through
this
process,
and
I
just
wanted
to
say
that
I
just
listened
to
the
young
lady
speak
and
she
like
many
people
that
are
against
these
establishments
going
into
their
communities,
voted
for
cannabis.
Q
They
they
vote
for
cannabis,
but
they
don't
believe
they
should
be
in
their
communities.
They
believe
they
should
only
be
in
dorchester
or
roxbury,
or
communities
such
as
those
and
and
it
becomes
problematic,
as
mike
ross
said,
when
70
of
a
community
votes
for
cannabis,
but
20
or
30
people
come
out
against
it.
That's
expected.
There
are
a
lot
of
people
me
included
who
do
not
smoke
cannabis.
There
are
a
lot
of
people
in
south
boston,
for
example,
that
are
part
of
a
recovery
community
that
do
not
smoke
cannabis.
Q
Q
All
of
those
have
been
mitigated
by
stores
already
opened,
opening
up
neta,
which
had
the
highest
gross
sales
in
the
country.
Everybody
wants
to
use
as
an
example,
there
are
no
more
lines
out
there.
There
are
no
more
there's
no
crime,
there's
no
traffic
issues
and,
as
52
of
these
open
up
over,
I
believe
there's
only
a
half
a
dozen
of
these
already
open.
Q
So
I
applaud
you
for
bringing
this
to
everybody's
attention.
I
applaud
both
the
cannabis
board,
the
the
the
zoning
board,
the
city
councilors
councillor
flynn,
flaherty
and,
and
all
the
others,
in
addition
to
you
for
looking
into
this
issue,
and
I
I
support
the
the
process
going
through
the
boston
cannabis
commission.
Thank
you
very
much.
D
Thank
you
very
much.
Brian
graves.
O
Yes,
good
afternoon,
everyone
thank
you
so
much.
My
name
is
brian
graves,
I'm
a
resident
of
south
boston.
I
live
at
503,
east
first
and
my
neighbor
maria.
I
just
spoke
a
few
minutes
ago,
I'd
like
to
clarify
a
few
items
that
jeff
and
councillor
former
councillor
ross
had
opined
about
for
our
particular
process.
O
I
would
note
that
10
not
approved
by
the
bc
by
the
zba
means
that
90
were
approved.
That
means
the
vast
majority
of
those
that
the
vcb
granted
licenses
to
were
approved
by
the
zba.
The
mission
of
the
zba
is
different
than
the
mission
of
the
bcb.
The
zba
is
there
to
look
at,
follow,
interpret
current
zoning
and
in
south
boston.
O
As
maria
mentioned,
we
have
article
68
that
was
approved
through
an
arduous
process,
something
like
12
to
18
months
in
2011
and
for
those
items
that
are
conditional
use
then
refer
to
article
6.,
so
article
68
does
not
allow
is
not
as
of
right
on
the
side
of
the
street,
where
at
least
our
cannabis
shop
had
been
proposed.
O
It
is
not
as
of
right
to
put
retail
there
and
and
not
large-scale
retail.
We
very
concerned
about
traffic
n
street
just
had
a
recent
tragedy
in
the
neighborhood.
I
think
council
flynn
has
been
a
huge
proponent
of
traffic
and
safety
in
the
neighborhood,
and
we
appreciate
his
support,
but
this
large-scale
cannabis
dispensary
in
our
neighborhood
is
not
what
we
voted
for
when
we
voted
for
cannabis.
O
Put
it
put
it
up
on
east
broadway.
Put
it
along
pappas
way.
There
are
places
in
the
neighborhood
where
it
can
be
supported
and
we
would
support
it,
but
don't
let
people
tell
you
just
because
we're
opposed
to
their
particular
cannabis
dispensary
on
our
street
that
it's
a
you
know
it's!
It's
us
opposing
cannabis
in
our
backyard.
It's
not
it's
safety,
in
fact,
article
six
says
no
adverse
effect
on
the
neighborhood,
so
for
conditional
use,
no
serious
hazard
to
vehicles
or
pedestrians
no
nuisance.
O
Those
are
all
things
that,
when
the
zba,
I
believe,
voted
six
to
one
against
the
proposal
here
took
into
consideration
the
208
abutters
that
were
opposed
and,
thankfully
they're
protecting
our
interests.
I
think
the
bcb
having
control
of
all
aspects
of
the
approval
and
sighting
would
be
too
much
in
in
one
group's
hands,
and
I
appreciate
the
fact
that
the
zba
weighed
in
they
listened
to
our
feedback
and
they
voted.
D
Thank
you
very
much
brian.
I
did
have
a
couple
folks
wanted
to
respond
to
jeff's
comments,
specifically
some
some
aspects
that
felt
they
were
mischaracterized.
A
In
their
testimony-
and
I
just
want
to
say
you
know
at
the
end
of
the
day-
today's
conversation-
which
is
what
we're
having
we
should
make
assumptions
about
people's-
why
they
stand
where
they
stand,
what
they're
doing
what's
in
their
hearts
or
what
they
feel
they're,
testifying
in
good
faith
about
something
that
is
controversial
about
something
that
is
a
massive
change.
A
A
R
Counselor,
thank
you
I'm.
Hopefully
I'm
up
and
up
and
running
this
time,
not
a
whole
lot
to
add
here,
except
thank
you
for
taking
this
on.
This
is
a
super
tough
issue.
R
I
was
involved
in
the
drafting
the
original
zoning
language
when
it
was
medical
marijuana
only
and
then
then
the
move
to
retail,
and
we
struggled
with
all
the
things
that
you
you've
touched
on
today
at
the
time,
but
we
didn't
have
the
cannabis
board
at
the
time
to
really
know
you
know
it
existed
conceptually,
but
not
as
an
actual
entity,
so
we
weren't
really
sure
how
this
was
going
to
work
out,
and
I
I
think
that
the
science
of
government
sometimes
is
a
scientific
experiment
and
we've
learned
a
lot
in
that
interim.
R
I
think
chris
english,
you
know,
nailed
it
early
on.
You
know
we
had
talked
to
everybody
else
in
the
country
that
was
doing
this.
Trying
to
get
you
know,
learn
best
practices,
learn
lessons
from
their
mistakes
and
the
two
things
that
we
came
away
from
it
was
you
don't
want
a
green
mile
situation
and
you
want
to
have
some
some
control
over
the
advertising,
because
the
the
advertising,
the
competition
through
advertising,
just
sort
of
turned
it
into
sort
of
a
circus-like
atmosphere
and-
and
that
wasn't
good.
R
So
you
know
I
think,
we've
done
pretty
well
with
the
advertising
piece.
You
don't
see
anything,
that's
you
know
really
over
the
top
and
I
think
the
the
green
mile
issue.
The
thing
that
we
were
trying
to
balance
was
not
only
you
know,
we
want
to
balance
the
benefits
that
could
could
come
to
communities
of
having
these
things.
We
also
want
to
balance
the
burdens
and
we
thought
there
there
will
be
neighborhoods
that
will
be
left
behind.
That
won't
have
a
dis
dispensary
in
it.
R
If
there
aren't
some,
isn't
there
isn't
some
mechanism
to
sort
of
push
them
apart,
and
I
think
that's
largely
happened.
I
think
we
we're
seeing
dispensaries
in
neighborhoods
throughout
the
city.
You
know
there's
a
fairly
good
distribution
and
it
hasn't
turned
into
green
mile.
So
you
know,
maybe
maybe
it's
the
time
to
pivot.
Our
agency
hasn't
taken
a
position
on
the
on
this,
but
we
stand
ready
to
work
with
you.
R
You
know
whatever
changes
to
zoning
need
to
happen
to
sort
of
move
into
the
the
the
next
phase,
but
you
know
we
think
that
the
it
does
represent
an
opportunity
you
know
for
for
neighbors
to
both
benefit
and
then
to
equally
accept
some
of
the
burdens
of
of
this
new
and
emerging
industry,
and
so
just
offer
our
assistance.
However,
we
can
be
helpful.
D
Thank
you
very
much
so
chris
english
from
isd
and
brian
glasscock
from.
A
R
R
That
process
they
make
a
recommendation
to
the
zoning
commission,
so
there
would
be
a
there
would
be
sort
of
a
process
to
follow
here.
What
we've
done
recently
is
where
zoning
recommendations
are
coming
straight
from
city
council.
We
may
be
able
to
go
straight
to
the
zoning
commission,
but
it's
always
always
good.
If
we
can
work
it
out,
you
know
sort
of
timing
wise
to
get
get
our
board
to
make
a
a
direct
recommendation
to
the
zoning
commission
as
well,
but
you
know
we'll
we'll
work
with
you.
I
I
don't.
R
I
didn't
hear
in
any
of
the
preferatory
remarks
as
what
the
time
frame
was
exactly,
and
I
don't
know
that,
there's
a.
I
suspect
that
there's
not
a
deadline.
So
much
as
that.
You
want
to
move
forward
with
this.
You
know
fairly
deliberately
because
there
are
people
waiting
in
the
queue
that
is,
this
is
impacting
people
and
they
need
whatever
the
outcome
is.
They
need
some
certainty
as
to
you
know
what
what
changes,
if
any,
will
happen.
H
Thanks
counselor
just
echo
what
brian
said
and
leslie
as
well.
We
are
in
a
regulatory
agency
here,
so
we
are
the
enforcers
of
the
building
and
the
zoning
code.
So
we
don't
take
we're
not
taking
a
position
on
this,
but
we're
happy
to
work
with
you
on
procedurally
and
how
to
move
forward.
A
Least
one
round,
I'm
going
to
go
back
through
counselors
to
ask
any
questions
and
then
I'm
going
to
discuss
next
steps
and
what
we
plan
on
doing
in
this
conversation,
counselor
flynn,
then
counselor
flaherty.
E
Thank
you,
council.
Thank
you,
council,
edwards
and
again
thank
you
to
to
chris,
to
leslie
and
to
brian
as
well
and
to
all
of
those
that
testified
just
just
for
the
record.
I
I
think
I
probably
have
seven
or
eight
of
these
dispensaries
in
my
district
that
I
supported,
and
at
least
two
of
them
are
owned
by
one
zone
by
a
woman
of
women
of
color.
I
think
it
was
the
first
equity
applicant
in
the
downtown
area
actually
near
the
north
station
area.
E
I
should
say
so
my
my
main
point
is
I
I
work
closely
with
the
neighbors,
with
residents
with
neighborhood
organizations
to
make
sure
that
there
is
a
fair
and
open
and
transparent
process.
That's
that's
my
job
as
a
district
city,
councilor
like
like
my
colleagues
on
the
city
council.
We
take
this
responsibility
very
seriously.
That's
why
we're
here
today
listening
to
the
concerns
of
residents,
it's
not
about
not
in
my
backyard,
but
it's
it's
about
making
sure
residents
have
a
fear
and
open
and
that
their
voice
is
respected
and
heard
at
city
government.
E
So
again,
just
want
to
say
thank
you
to
council
edwards
to
to
council
flahery
as
well
and
all
of
those
that
testified
whether
they
agree
with
me
or
don't
agree
with
me.
That's
that's
democracy.
Thank
you.
Council,
woods.
C
Thank
you,
madam
chair,
just
want
to
just
take
this
opportunity,
underscore
the
it's
obviously
the
the
strengths,
I
guess
the
positives
of
the
of
the
buffer
zone
in
terms
of
it,
bringing
about
a
level
of
predictability
for
proponents,
those
that
are
making
a
commitment
and
making
an
investment
and
or
securing
and
putting
together
a
team,
that's
the
sort
of
where
they
can
go,
where
they
can't
go
and
predictability,
particularly
in
in
real
estate.
Businesses
is
paramount,
that's
huge!
So
that's
one
of
the
strengths
of
having
the.
G
A
Very
quickly,
but
I'm
going
to
go
ahead
and
talk
next
steps
and
what,
what
and
kind
of
answer
some
of
the
questions?
I
know
that
a
lot
of
people
have
discussed
community
process
and
back
and
forth.
I
want
to
be
clear
that
the
cannabis
board
regulations
requires
a
community
meeting
and
then
requires
a
letter
from
the
district
city
council,
which
means
a
lot
to
me
as
a
district
city
councilor,
I'm
sure
to
my
colleagues.
A
A
We're
hoping
to
get
that
codified
and
that's
what
we're
fighting
for
as
a
community
to
get
the
zva
to
even
tell
us
what
they
consider
on
the
current
laws
that
they're
supposed
to
be
enforcing
or
granting
variances
to.
We
don't
have
that
so
there
are.
There
are
actually
distinct
huge
differences
in
this
process
and
I
want
to
know
the
community
is
very
much
involved
in
the
boston
cannabis
board
process.
The
board
does
not
always
agree
with
me
as
a
district
city
council.
I
know,
but
I
do
feel
heard
at
the
boston
cannings
board.
A
So
I
just
wanted
to
note
that
I
understand
people
are
not
attacking
the
board,
but
people
are
discussing
community
process
and
I
did
want
to
make
sure
that
we
were
clear
about
that.
Other
things
that
I
think
are
worth
noting
by
removing
it
from
the
zba
and
putting
this
conversation
squarely
within
the
ordinance
concerning
the
boston
cannabis
board.
A
The
other
parts
of
the
of
the
boston
cannabis
board
are
are
are
controlled
by
and
influenced
by
their
own
regulations,
of
which
all
of
us
can
propose
regulations
to
the
boston
cannabis
board
to
go
back
and
forth.
So
there's
there's.
I
actually
think
that
the
opportunity
for
a
robust
conversation
for
making
sure
this
industry
is
equitable,
fair
and
safe
and
has
a
home
in
our
neighborhoods.
A
All
of
our
neighborhoods
is
through
the
boston,
cannabis
board,
regulations
and
ordinance,
and
that's
why,
for
those
who
may
not
have
read
yet,
we
did
propose
certain
regulations
for
the
buffer
zone.
The
buffer
zone
still
exists,
everyone,
it
still
exists,
it
exists
in
the
ordinance
and
then
we
came
up
with
exceptions
for
that
for
the
board
to
consider.
That
is
what
is
also
pending,
and
that
and-
and
so
what
I'm
hoping
for,
is
that
that
conversation
will
continue
and
become
more
robust
in
a
working
session.
A
But
for
right
now
the
proposed
regulations,
if
you
want
an
exception
to
the
buffer
zone,
include
documentation
of
support
which
may
include
letters
from
support
from
community
members,
letters
from
community
organizations
direct
and
indirect
butters
and
elected
officials,
and
you
must
receive
a
minimum
three
letters
of
support.
That's
what
we
have
right
now
is
one
of
the
regulations.
If
you
want
an
exception
to
the
buffer
zone
applicant
statement
explaining,
so
the
applicants
must
explain
in
particularly
why
the
applicant
should
be
granted
a
conditional
license.
A
Despite
the
proximity
to
another
applicant,
you
have
to
address
in
that
letter
special
circumstances
or
conditions
that
apply
to
this
location
reasons
for
practical
difficulty
and
substantial
hardship
explaining
why
the
proximity
to
another
applicant
should
not
prevent
the
the
bcb
for
granting
the
license
and
how
the
boston
cannabis
board's
grant
of
a
license
would
not
negatively
impact
the
surrounding
neighborhoods.
So
these
are
standards.
Are
we
are
already
proposing
that
they
would
have
to
consider
before
they
can?
Let
you
come
within
a
half
mile.
A
Excuse
me
not
you
let
one
dispensary
come
within
a
half
hour
of
another,
so
that's
pending
and
again
it's
actually
easier
to
move
influence
and
adjust
to
this
to
this
industry,
and
let
me
be
very
clear:
this
industry
is
going
to
change
a
lot,
we're
talking,
I'm
sure
at
some
point
about
having
on-site
consumption.
A
Restaurants
consuming
you
know
cannabis
food
on
site,
there's
a
lot
of
different
ways
in
which
this
industry
is
going
to
change.
We
actually
want
to
keep
the
flexibility,
and
I
think
the
best
way
to
do
so
is
in
the
regulations
and
in
the
ordinance
not
in
the
zba,
who
I
don't
think
they
can
adjust
as
fast.
So
other
things
we
will
consider
in
the
working
session,
which
we
will
be
planning,
is
adding
in
labor
language
or
workers
rights.
A
I
know
that
that
was
something
that
ufcw
specifically
was
concerned
about,
and
we
will
look
at
the
standards
and
we'll
take
any
suggestions.
You
have
for
granted
exceptions
to
the
half-mile
buffer
and
then
also
considering
continually
looking
at
delivery
and
other
entities
that
may
or
may
not
along
with
the
one-for-one.
A
That
is
more
of
a
regulation
discussion,
but
still,
I
think
it
came
up
with
lab
space
and
so
on
and
so
forth.
So
and
then
just
for
clarification,
we
can
very
well
then
approve
the
zoning
language
which
just
removes
or
creates
the
conditional
use
or
allowable
use.
Excuse
me
and
move
that
along
and
it
can
go
straight
to
the
zoning
commission.
As
brian
glasscock
noted,
the
bpd
seems
to
be
neutral
or
have
no
real
opinion
about
this,
yet
they
would
probably
want
the
best
product
or
best
zoning
language.
A
So
that's
one
one
proposal
and
I
did
want
to
ask
frank
brian
glascock,
if
you're
still
there.
A
Hi,
so
assuming
this
amendment
passes
and
goes
to
the
bpda,
we
file
it
with
you.
My
understanding
is
if,
by
virtue
of
it
being
filed
with
you
and
let's
say,
there's
an
advertised
hearing
for
you
that
those
people
pending
that
they
can
withdraw
without
prejudice
or
they
could
they
could
there's
a
certain
kind
of
cloak
that
they
have.
If
the
zoning
is
changing,
while
they're,
pending
and
waiting
in
line
for
the
zba,
could
you
explain
that
yeah.
R
So
the
the
the
default
position
is
if
we,
if
the
zoning
commission
advertises
a
change
to
zoning,
that
new
proposed
zoning
then
becomes
sort
of
the
the
law
of
the
land
until
the
zoning
commission
either
approves
it
or
rejects
it.
So
with
somebody
who
was
in
the
queue
that
didn't
have
a
building
permit
to
you
know
didn't
have
had
not
gotten
the
change
of
use
permit
yet
through
through
isd,
they
could
withdraw
and
refile
and
and
be
covered
under
whatever
the
new
proposed
zoning
was.
R
The
one
caveat
is
if
something
happens,
and
it
doesn't
eventually
pass.
You
know
they
sort
of
given
up
their
their
spot
on
the
queue
and
they'd
have
to
start
start
over
again.
But,
yes,
you
were
corrected
the
default
position
unless
we
say
otherwise.
In
the
zoning
amendment
itself,
the
proposed
new
zoning
applies
to
any
project
that
doesn't
already
have
a
building
permit.
D
Thank
you
so
that
that's
that's,
then,
upon.
R
Right
the
first
average
advertisement
for
the
hearing-
that's
it
sort
of
yeah,
and
you
can
imagine
why
that
is,
it
would
create
a
run
on
the
bank.
Ordinarily,
when
we're
changing
zoning.
If,
if
it
didn't
apply
to
things,
a
lot
of
people
would
be
trying
to
get
in
under
the
old
zoning
because
we're
not
usually
you
know,
making
things
easier
for
people
in
this
case,
we're
making
it
easier
to
make
it
easier
for
people.
R
So
that's
it's
less
of
a
problem
and
it
might
actually
help
some
people
out,
but
that,
but
I
you
know
I
I
I
get
that
there's
you
know
while
there's
no
hard
and
fast
deadline.
There
is
just
some
sense
of
urgency
here,
because
there
are
people
you
know
in
the
queue
the
meters
running,
for
a
lot
of
people,
they're
paying
carrying
costs,
they're,
you
know
and
and
and
rent
and
and
so
on
and
they're
they're
sort
of
tied
up
trying
to
figure
this
thing
out.
R
So
you
know
we
we
more
than
anything
we
want
to
give
them
some
predictability.
You
know
we
hear
that
all
the
time
from
from
you
know,
everybody
from
you
know
small
business
entrepreneurs
to
the
biggest
developers.
Is
you
know
they
at
to
some
extent
it
doesn't
matter
quite
so
much
what
the
rules
are
as
long
as
they
as
long
as
they
know
what
they
are
they're
predictable
and
they
they
can
work
around
it.
R
So
we
we
want
to
make
sure
we're
not
sort
of
whips
on
people
around
by
by
you
know,
moving
the
goal
polls
for
them.
We
want
to
give
them
some
some
level
of
certainty
that
when
we
propose
something
to
the
zoning
commission
that
we
have
every
intention
and
every
ability
to
get
that
carried
out,
so
you
know
we
will
do
our
best
to
make
sure
that
happens.
D
Thank
you,
okay.
I
appreciate
that
so,
unless
there's.
A
Any
final
remarks:
I'm
going
to
go
ahead
and
end
this
hearing
note
that
we
will
have
a
working
session.
My
goal
is
to
move
a
comprehensive
compromise.
Zoning
amendment
on
this
particular
topic
that
does
move
remove
the
cba
provide.
A
My
colleagues
agree
removes
the
zba,
but
but
in
exchange
for
that
puts
clear
standards
in
the
ordinance
for
the
boston
cannabis
board,
specifically
around
this
zoning
at
this
buffer
zone,
we
won't
leave
without
having
clarity
standards
that
balance
the
needs
of
the
neighborhood,
prevent
a
green
mile,
prevent
the
concentration
in
any
one
neighborhood
and
assures
that
again
there's
an
equitable
distribution
of
the
benefits
and
burdens
of
cannabis
and
in
boston.
So.
D
With
that,
I'm
going
to
go
ahead
and
close
out
this
hearing.
Thank
you
very
much.