Boston City TV, MA City of Boston Cannabis Board, 22 Jun 2022

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From YouTube: Boston Cannabis Board Voting Hearing 6-22-22

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Boston Cannabis Board Voting Hearing 6-22-22

A

We're just going to give it a moment and let everyone come in from the waiting room.

A

Please make sure you are muted when you enter.

A

All right good afternoon, this is a hearing before the boston cannabis board. Today is june 22nd 2022.. Today's hearing is being conducted pursuant to certain temporary amendments to the open meeting law. That is what allows us to meet. Virtually this hearing is being recorded and will be posted to the city of boston's website. Before I review some procedural matters, I will introduce chairwoman kathleen joyce.

B

Thank you jasmine good afternoon. My name is kathleen joyce, I'm chair of the boston cannabis board and today I'm pleased to be joined by my fellow commissioners, commissioner lisa holmes. Commissioner darlene lombos commissioner john smith and commissioner alejandra sankian.

A

Thank you, chairwoman, joyce and my name is jasmine nguyen and I am the boston cannabis, one cannabis board manager and we also have allison quinn, who is the boston cannabis board project manager. While the public is encouraged to attend, there will be no additional public testimony accepted. I will read each item into the record after I will ask for comments from each board member. I will then ask if there's a motion, any questions on the motion, and then there will be a vote. Each board.

A

Member has the ability to grant grant with conditions defer, reject without prejudice, which means the applicant can return any time with an application at the same location or reject with prejudice, which means the applicant cannot reapply at the same location for one year. The first three items are requests for changes to already approved licensees.

A

The first item is east boston, local routes, llc the licensed premises, 1006 1006, bennington street east boston. The licensed type is recreational retail, cannabis dispensary. The request is to use dba east boston, cannabis cup. Are there any comments from the board members in regards to this proposal?

A

No okay! Nope! No being that is their emotion.

B

uh My vote make a motion to approve.

A

B

A

Second, second, all in favor aye all right and then opposed.

A

The next item we have is beacon, compassion, inc, the license premises, 1524 vfw, parkway, west roxbury. The last type is a co-located medical and recreational cannabis dispensary license. The request is to change the dba from high five to up to. Are there any comments from the commissioners about this proposal?

A

You know sharon rejoices their motion. I make.

B

A motion to approve this change.

A

Is there a second all in favor and then opposed.

A

All right, we will now move to our new licenses that follow the one-to-one equity to non-equity ratio. The first item is low. Key to llc. The proposed license: premise is 5252 252 70 washington street west roxbury. The license type is a retail recreational cannabis dispensary license. The proposed hours of operation are 10, am to 9 pm 7 days a week. This is an equity applicant. um We can. We will begin with comments from the board members, cheryl and joyce.

B

um I just like to say I was impressed with um all of the community outreach. They did, I think, was a very strong application. They listened to the community, they took their concerns and considerations.

B

um They took their concerns into consideration. They continued to work with them throughout the process at first I I was concerned about the park across the street, but really there are no issues with that. As far as um I'm concerned, I think it was a very strong application.

A

Thank you, commissioner.

C

Yeah, I agree it was a um it was I like these applicants. I thought they had a very thorough presentation. I thought the um just the employment plan wasn't reflected in writing. What was presented, which I thought was really much more robust, so I thought but good application overall.

A

Thank you, commissioner. Holmes.

D

I sent my sentiments echo. uh Commissioner. Lombo says there was some stuff that was left out of their physical presentation, but once they got here and we talked about it, they supplemented it. So I think it was commissioner lombos had actually asked them to actually add that stuff into their packages for future prosperity, so other than that, I thought they did a great job, great presentation.

E

Thanks jasmine, no, no, not much more to add strong presentation matter.

A

Commissions, uh I agree.

F

They scored high across the board and also noted um their particular attention to detail around the community engagement piece.

A

Chairman joyce is their own motion.

B

Yes, just listening to what the other commissioners said um and commissioner lombos's desire for more details around the employment plan, um I'd like to just talk through the motion, um I would make a motion to grant this applicant a license conditional upon those things submitted to the board. In writing.

C

A

So granted conditionally and updated employment plan. Is that the motion? Yes? Is there a second.

C

Second, all in favor.

A

And none opposed.

A

So granted with the condition that we're working here updated um employment plan.

A

And I actually skipped an item. I knew I was missing one. So I'm just gonna go back um item three actually was racist on the hill llc. The license premise is one one. Two one, two three towers at street boston mass license type as a recreational um cannabis dispensary license and the request was a change in beneficial interest.

A

Were there any comments in regards to this proposal? No, no issues. There a motion characteristic.

B

um I make a motion to approve this change.

A

Is there a second all right, all in favor and gonna post?

A

Sorry about that all right? The next item we have is cannabis healing llc. The proposed license premises for neptune world east boston. The license type is a retail recreational cannabis dispensary license. The proposed hours of operation are 10 a.m to 10 p.m. Seven days a week- and this is a non-equity applicant shareholder enjoy. So you have any comments.

B

Yes, I think it was really clear during their presentation that the applicants are into this business for all the right reasons: they're passionate about it. They understand what role cannabis plays in the community and in this particular community. I think, overall, the application could benefit from some more details and some more work specifically around their employment plan.

B

I think it could be built out a little bit better um and I also wanted to I know they have requested a letter of support from former city councilor um edwards, who was in the middle of a transition when this application, when the 45 day period started to toll, I think they would benefit from some more conversations with the community and the new city councilor.

B

We did receive a petition with signatures, but I think something more than just signatures would be helpful. um I think it helps them get be known with it within their neighborhood and within the community, and it helps us understand exactly what the community wants. One thing that stood out to me was that the takeout window from a security perspective, I wasn't convinced that their staffing model reflected the needs of having two point having a point of sale outside and having an entrance to go in from the streets. So those are just my comments.

C

A

Lombos there.

C

I really completely agree with um chairwoman joyce. I thought that the applicants had some really great ideas. Some creative stuff in the application would love to see more detail um yeah. I don't have much to add just completely agree with uh commissioner joyce on this one.

A

Commissioner, holmes.

D

um Ditto, I I completely agree with your chairwoman. Joyce. The takeout window needs a lot more detail about how they're going to secure that. I think it's a novel idea, but because it's the first one we've seen, I think we really got to make sure that we get that right if we um allow that to go into a license.

D

So I think we need just need to see a little bit more on how that's really going to function in real time in just a little, not a little a lot more detail on how they're going to secure that.

A

Commissioner smith,.

E

Thanks jasmine.

E

You know, I think, just building it out a little bit more didn't seem as comprehensive as it could be. You know the whole idea of mentioning a multiple plan, but then saying it was observational.

E

um You know the seven part-time employees and really sort of having a a sense of you know, recruiting quarry folks, and all that I didn't have the sense that it was as comprehensive as it could be. I think maybe just leaving the whole plan and doing a sort of stronger presentation would work.

F

uh No, nothing really unique to add. I I um agree with my my fellow commissioners and I did look back at the date of the original proposal and it was over a year ago, so I do think um they.

F

I agree about the transition in uh leadership, uh the council, and that would be a great network to to make and also you know, due diligence in reaching out with the community uh and then the security piece, but overall also agree that I think this um really great applicant and I think, once they kind of fix those or supplement those those pieces of their application. That would be a really really strong implication, and I do also want to something that I hadn't noticed thought it before.

F

But it's true that adding a takeout window would be the first time, and so we really need a very, very strong um uh presence of what that would look like. I don't I'm not against it. I just can't envision it right right now, based on the application as it stands.

A

Chairman joyce, is there a motion.

B

Yeah, I would like to see them come back before the board, um with some of these ideas built out and um some conversational conversations with the new city councilor. um My motion would be to defer this application.

F

Question I'm sorry quick question because they're not equity, do they have to go in line? How does that work in terms of when they can come back.

B

I would be willing go ahead. Trust me.

A

Now, if we're just deferring them um as soon as they get us the updated materials they can be put on the next one, okay.

B

Okay, jasmine, I want to make sure we don't have to have the 45-day toll with the new city councilor.

D

B

Like them to just be able to reach out and have a conversation, should city council or be open to that, if they're not at least they've reached out to talk to them,.

F

A

So the motion is to defer yes, we're pending conversation with the new district city, councilor, um updated um security plan.

B

To address overall security, but specifically the security around the takeout window secret window, and I think we I thought they needed to build out their employment plan.

A

Any questions on the motion I.

E

Also get sense of um they mentioned the parking study and then said it was observational so like are they doing to do a parking? I mean a traffic plan, traffic.

A

A

Okay, so the motion is to defer, pending reaching out to the district city councilor um a more robust security plan in regards to the takeout window and an updated employment plan and a traffic study.

B

Do we want to make john? Did you want to require them to do an official traffic study or just to explain what they did.

E

I, I think, explain what they did. Okay, so.

A

Explain: jeff exciting.

B

I just don't know the cost of the traffic study right right.

E

So I'm not listening. Okay,.

B

Like the dates and times they did it right.

E

I just want more detail, you know other than just observational yeah.

A

All right, that's helpful.

A

So again, the motion is to defer, pending conversation with the district city, councilor an updated security plan in regards to the takeout window, a more robust employment plan and an explanation of the traffic study they conducted.

B

That's the motion. Okay is.

A

There a second all in favor and none opposed.

A

The next item we have is low-key cultivation, llc 48-54 walter street high park. The license type is a cultivation license. The proposed hours of operations are 8, am to 9 pm 7 days a week, and this is the equity applicant chairman joyce.

B

um Thanks jasmine, I think this was a strong application. um Their presentation, um I think, filled in some of the details that we're missing in the board memo um and I'd like to see some of those details in writing as well. I don't have any other comments on this application.

C

Commissioners, yeah exactly the same, is very similar. It was the same application would love to see more detail that we got in the presentation. So again, it's just putting that in writing. Thank you.

A

D

The same and I would actually really like to see a little bit more detail on that delivery port, um whether it's going whether they're going to be bringing the vans inside because that's a big warehouse. So I think they're capable of making an indoor where they can bring the vans in. But again, I'd just like to see a little bit more detail around how that's going to work.

A

E

Thanks jasmine co-signing on all the other commissioners have said.

A

Commission thinking.

F

Yes, um I agree in what what I had noted was some kind of um mechanism to measure environmental impact, not a full environmental effect study or anything, that's you know, cost prohibitive um to the applicant, but just more specifics on how that will be measured, because I think it's going to be a um it's a there's, a significant impact in that area, given the water and and and past.

E

F

Use from pro from other uh operators of the area, so um just a kind of an outline of how they're how they're going to measure and what they'll be measuring um would be great.

A

Okay, should we rejoice? Is there a motion yeah.

B

I'm just taking some notes. um My motion is to grant conditionally upon um more information regarding the delivery report and update an employment plan and an outline to measure.

B

An outline of how they plan to measure the environmental impact.

A

Any questions on the motion is there a second second all in favor, and none opposed.

C

A

Next, we will move to new applications for the courier delivery. Delivery operate a license which does not count towards the purposes of the one-to-one equity to non-equity ratio. The applicant is pure oasis llc. The proposed license permissions, 430 blue hill avenue dorchester. The license type is a delivery operator license. The post hours of operation are 10 a.m to 9 00 pm seven days a week. This is the equity applicant. There is a buffer zone conflict with another cannabis establishment, and the applicant has an existing retail license at this location.

A

Cheryl joyce.

B

Thanks jasmine, uh this applicant's familiar to me and to members of the board they've been forced before they've, been in operation for quite some time now. As a retail operator, um I just want to have a discussion about the bumper zones. I think what we say today will help um should this move on towards the zva.

B

um While on his face there is a buffer zone conflict. I do believe this applicant pierces the buffer zone, because it is a different license type. Technically, it's a new license and they're, providing this delivery option that isn't available in that neighborhood.

B

So for those particular reasons, I believe that they do pierce the buffer zone.

A

Commission uncles.

C

Yes, I agree with uh chairwoman joyce again and also I just think that the track record and um the level of detail in their application- it's just for for me as a commissioner. It is a model applicant in that way and um it it hits all of the notes that we are looking for in the score sheet and it scores very high in all sections.

C

um So, for those reasons, I would also say the buffer zone, so it is a new license. I agree. I mean it's like a new license, but you know when we're looking at applicants. This is a very hot high scoring and also consistent and very strong track record.

A

Commissioner, holmes.

D

uh Nothing more to add, I agree with both the chairperson and our and our fellow commissioner. Can you.

A

E

Same thanks jasmine, I think strong, strong business strong model um very much in agreement with uh commissioner london. Thank you.

A

Commissions, thank you.

F

I agree with all my fellow commissioners.

A

All right chairman rejoices the emotion.

B

Yes, I make a motion to grant this application conditional upon the buffer zone conflict being resolved.

A

Is there a second second all in favor all right and none of those so granted depending the buffer zone, variance.

A

Right, so those are all the matters before the board today, our next transactional hearing will take place on july 20th 2022 at 1 pm. Please note that is the third wednesday because of the holiday. We are pushed back a week, um so hope everyone enjoys the rest of their day and we'll see you next time.

A