►
From YouTube: Boston Cannabis Board Public Hearing - 3-17-21
Description
A public hearing of the Boston Cannabis Board was held virtually on
March 17, 2021
A
Yourself
good
afternoon,
this
is
a
hearing
before
the
boston
cannabis
board.
Today
is
wednesday
march
17
2021..
Today's
hearing
is
being
conducted
pursuant
to
certain
temporary
amendments
to
the
open
meeting
law.
That
is
what
allows
us
to
meet
virtually
today's
hearing
is
being
recorded
and
will
be
posted
to
the
city
of
boston's
website.
A
B
A
A
A
B
Thank
you,
leslie.
I
do
a
few
comments.
I
thought
this
was
a
very
strong
application
and
it's
clear
from
every
aspect
of
the
proposal
that
the
applicant
is
invested
in
his
community.
The
diversity
inclusion
plans
are
goals
are
articulated,
as
well
as
through
the
partnering
programs.
They've
chosen.
It's
not
just
diversity
in
his
hiring
that
stood
out
to
me,
but
his
diversity
in
his
contracts.
B
I'd
like
to
see
some
supplemental
information
from
the
applicant
as
to
how
they
are
going
to
measure
these
goals
on
a
regular
basis
and
that
sort
of
that
plan
should
be
submitted
to
the
board.
Should
this
license
be
granted
the
applicant's
plan
for
protecting
youth
from
accessing
the
product
real
product
really
stood
out
to
me
in
the
presentation.
It
was
a
very
first
bullet
point
under
location,
safety
and
security,
and
I
think
that's
very
important.
B
B
He's
a
strong
track
record
as
being
a
good
business
person,
his
employment
plan
and
his
explanation
of
what
he's
trying
to
achieve
stood
out
to
me
at
the
public
hearing.
I
applaud
his
efforts
to
hire
non-violent
drug
offenders
and
to
say,
and
he
said
on
the
record,
that
not
everyone
in
jail
is
a
bad
employee.
C
Do
very
strong
application.
All
the
parties
in
involved
seem
very
dedicated.
My
my
only
two
major
con
well,
three
major
concerns
I
have
is
that
that
corner
location
is
really
bad
as
far
as
congestion
and
it's
bad
now
at
rush
hour
with
buses
when
school
buses
come
back
around
it's
tough
and
the
fact
that
they
are
directly
across
the
street
from
not
only
the
sportsman's
tennis
club,
but
the
dorchester
boys
and
girls
club.
C
So
I'd
like
to
see
a
little
bit
more
outreach
with
those
two
youth
organizations
because
they're
vital
to
that
area,
and
they
do
a
lot
of
work
up
there,
they've
just
they're
in
the
process
now
of
redoing
franklin
field,
the
field
for
pop
warner
and
soccer
for
young
people
and
his
establishment
is
going
to
be
diagonally
across
the
street
from
all
these
youth
organizations.
So
I'd
like
to
see
a
little
bit
more
outreach,
particularly
to
the
boys
and
girls
club
and
sportsman
tennis,
who
are
vital
to
that
area.
D
I
don't
have
much
to
add.
I
agree
with
a
chairwoman
joyce
strong
application.
I
did
want
to
just
point
out.
I
really
appreciate
it
in
the
employment
plan,
the
lifting
up
of
whistleblower
policies
and
lpas
and
things
to
really
support
workers
and
worker
voice
in
the
business
plan.
So
I
really
appreciated
that.
I
also
do
appreciate
the
deep
roots
in
the
community.
This
strong
woman,
strong
girls,
is
something
that
my
daughter's
in
and
I
liked
seeing
that
mentioned,
and
the
emphasis
on
on
women
and
girls.
E
E
So,
echoing
what
commissioner
holmes
said
and
then
I
also
sort
of
again
anecdotally
visited
two
of
the
existing
retail
cannabis
shops
to
look
at
sort
of
location,
but
also
employment,
and
so
I
would
advocate
strongly
to
really
make
sure
and
really
come
back
at
some
other
point
and
talk
to
us
about.
You
know
the
people
you're
employing
you
know,
because
it
it
the
ones
I
visited,
which
I
won't
name.
It
doesn't
really
reflect.
E
You
know
what
people
are
saying
that
they're
gonna
hire.
You
know
people's
color
and
that
kind
of
thing,
so
it's
very
interesting
to
sort
of
notice
up
close,
so
the
hiring
practices.
So
I
was
impressed
by
you.
You
talked
about
having
an
internship
program
and
you
talked
about
your
first
race
and
second
phase
and
you
know
really
being
thoughtful
about
who
you're
bringing
in
and
why
and
how
so
would
love
to
like
continue
to
have
that
conversation
down
the
road
to
actually
see
what
it
looks
like
around
the
metrics.
F
Yes,
not
much
to
add.
After
all,
my
commissioners
went,
but
I
agree
with
everything
that
was
said
before
me
and
also
noted
the
the
really
strong
job
creation
opportunity
and
ability
to
to
diversify
the
workforce
and
the
cannabis
industry
as
this
site
having
the
opportunity
to
do
that.
Giving
given
the
couple
the
phases
and
but
it
scored,
scored
high
for
me
on
every
single
part
of
the
of
the
scoring
sheet.
So
really
good.
B
Yes,
having
listened
to
what
commissioner
holmes
pointed
out,
and
I
think
it
is
important
that
the
applicant
work
with
those
two
community
groups,
I
also
think
this
is
an
equity
applicant
that
could
also
avail
themselves
of
some
of
the
technical
assistance
that
might
be
able
to
help
with
some
of
the
congestion
there.
I
don't
know
if
there's
a
solution,
but
we
could
connect
them
with
people
in
the
city.
B
I
still
think
it's
a
strong
application.
I
would
make
a
motion
to
grant
this
application
conditioned
upon
their
further
and
continued
outreach
with
the
boys
and
girls
club,
and
is
it
the
sportsman
tennis
club
commissioner
holmes
so
leslie?
Would
this
be
granting
it,
but
we
wouldn't
issue
it
until
they
have
those
meetings
report
back
to
us.
A
Exactly
so
that
it
would
be
granting
it,
but
as
a
condition
of
that
grant,
they
have
to
continue
working
with
those
groups.
The
board
has
done
that
with
some
other
establishments
and
it
allows
them
to
go
through
the
state
process,
but
before
issuance
we
would
ask
for
a
full
update
on
that,
and
we
could
do
that
administratively
and
if
there
are
any
questions
we
could
move
on
from
there.
A
A
A
B
B
B
And
20
of
what
we
may
be,
what
we
or
the
board
may
consider
pursuant
to
the
ordinance
when
we
cite
these
establishments,
I
look
to
a
mother,
among
other
things,
the
potential
impacts
in
the
quality
of
life
of
residents
and
the
businesses
in
the
immediate
area
and
the
steps
of
this
applicant
or
the
applicant
has
taken
and
proposes
to
take.
I
think
this
is
a
good
location.
B
This
applicant
has
done
a
significant
amount
of
work,
including
a
traffic
study
and
multiple
meetings
with
the
community.
I
don't
know
where
the
comments
that
come
in
that
say
that
they
haven't
worked
with
the
community,
that
they
have
provided
evidence
of
dates
and
people
they've
met
with
for
the
last
several
years.
B
I'm
confident
that
their
proposal
adequately
addresses
the
concerns
expressed
by
the
opposition
and,
additionally,
the
applicant
has
made
it
clear
that
they
committed
to
continuing
to
work
with
the
community.
I
think
some
members
of
the
applicant
team
are
meeting
with
members
of
the
community
this
week
and
it's
clear
to
me
that
they
will
continue
to
respond
to
future
concerns.
B
I
also
want
to
acknowledge
for
the
record
the
supplemental
letter
from
attorney
ross
that
we
received
after
the
hearing
and
specifically
attorney
ross
points
out
that
this
process
began
more
than
two
years
ago
in
the
number
and
types
of
community
meetings
that
his
team
had
with
various
stakeholders.
That's
what
I
wanted
to
mention
and
to
address
what
concert
flaherty
here,
brought
up
at
the
hearing,
it's
important
to
make
clear
that
we
do
not
get
involved
in
private
mitigation
contracts
between
an
applicant
and
the
community.
B
Those
are
private
contracts
that
the
board
does
not
get
involved
in.
What
we
do
get
involved
in
what
we
can
collect
is
three
percent
of
sales
annually
from
the
apple
from
the
operator
and
those
those
the
three
percent
that
we
collect,
that
money
must
be
applied
to
mitigation
efforts
in
the
immediate
area
of
the
cannabis
establishment.
That
is
what
the
city
can
collect.
B
No
city
no
municipality
legally,
can
take
or
advocate
for
additional
funds
from
a
cannabis
establishment.
It's
very
common
for
a
business
of
businesses,
of
all
types
to
enter
into
these
agreements
with
the
community
regarding
additional
mitigation
efforts.
But
those
are
private
agreements
and
we
will
not
be
getting
involved
in
them.
So
those
are
my
comments.
All
in
all,
I
think
it's
a
great
location.
I
think
it's
a
very
strong
application.
C
Basically,
I
echo
what
the
chairwoman
said:
you're
always
gonna
have
opposition
in
neighborhoods
from
people
about
what
businesses
open
up,
whether
it's
a
cannabis
establishment,
whether
it's
a
liquor,
store
whether
it's
something
else
that
somebody
just
doesn't
want
in
their
backyard,
but
this
this
business.
This
group
has
done
significant
work
in
putting
in
the
time
and
effort
to
take
those
things
into
consideration
and
again
I
think
it's
a
very
strong
application.
C
The
location
you
know
it's.
The
building
is
pretty
much
self-contained,
so
they
have
plenty
of
parking.
They're
actually
offering
parking,
which
I
know
in
that
neighborhood
is,
is,
is
primarily
everybody's
biggest
problem
so
to
or
to
offer
night
parking
in
an
area
where
on-street
parking
is
pretty
rare,
I
think,
is
a
is
a
plus
so
strong
application,
and
I'm
I'm
pleased
with
what
they
put
forward.
D
Yeah.
Thank
you
again.
I
do
agree
with
the
fellow
commissioners
here
I.
It
is
always
hard,
though,
for
us
to
to
see
opposition
hear
it
in
public
testimony.
It
really
does
weigh
heavily,
and
so
that's
why
we
have
these
score
sheets
again.
I
got
to
go
back
to
the
scoresheet
because
it
is
only
a
portion
of
it
and
I
really
do
count
on
the
other
commissioner's
area
of
expertise.
D
I
really
do
listen
to
the
chairwoman
joyce
about
her
experience
with
licensing
and
commissioner
holmes,
with
all
her
experience
with
the
safety
and
security
and
location
and
commissioner
senggian
and
all
of
her
work
around
public
health
and
then
obviously,
commissioner
smith,
with
his
extensive
community
organizing
connections,
deep
connections
with
the
community.
So
we
all
have
our
level
of
expertise.
D
I
know
that
and
and
we
bring
to
the
board
what
we
can
we
contribute
to
it
and
it
is
hard
to
hear
opposition
and
it
does
weigh
so
they
did
have
a
lower
score
for
me
on
the
on
the
community
feedback
and
public
support.
That
is
clear,
but
the
other
sections
did
have
pretty
high
scores
and
just
wanted
to
point
that
out.
I
I
thought
it
was
again
agree
with
our
fellow
commissioners
here.
That's
it's
a
good
application.
Thank
you.
E
Thank
you
leslie
and
thanks
chairwoman
joyce.
I
would
echo
a
lot
of
what
you
said
and
also
I
think
there
were
a
lot
of
quality
of
life
issues
which
I
don't
think
we
can
get
around
so
much.
I
mean
again
in
terms
of
driving
around
I
drove
through
that
area
and
realized
it's
really
close
to
like
the
ups.
E
It's
a
really
light
industrial
area
with
lots
of
traffic,
and
I
thought
okay.
So
there
are
different
quality
of
life
issues
around
here.
That
building
that
I
saw
where
I
think
they're
gonna
put,
is
pretty
self-contained
versus
some
of
the
others.
I
know
they
just
cited
one
one
just
opened
over
the
weekend
in
jamaica,
plain
on
center
street
right
next
to
whole
foods,
literally
right
on
the
corner.
So
I
think
these
issues
will
come
up.
E
We
will
have
to
address
them
as
they
come
up
and
I
think,
as
long
as
they're
committed
to
continuing
to
work
with
the
community,
that's
being
built
up
in
that
area,
you
know
I
and
their
commitment
to
the
hiring
plan
that
they
laid
out
and
their
community
engagement.
I
think
we
will
I'm
comfortable.
You
know
seeing
it
go
forward.
A
F
Thank
you
so
much.
I
agree
with
my
my
fellow
commissioners
and
and
especially
with
commissioner
lombos
on
the
the
issue
of
community
support
and
that
you
know
that
level
opposition
definitely
does
have,
does
weigh
on
on
on
our
decision,
but
is
really.
It
is
a
part
of
the
entire
scoring
sheet.
I
did
want
to
recognize
a
suggestion
made
by
some
someone
who
testified
about
perhaps
us
doing
a
better
job
of
explaining
the
process
like
once
they
go
through
our
board.
F
They
fully
understand
the
process,
and
I-
and
I
heard
that
loud
and
clear,
from
a
number
of
people
who
testified
and
so
and
even
you
know
the
scoring
the
scoring
sheets
knowing
what's
on
the
scoring
sheets
and
what
the
percentage
of
each
is
so,
but
but
overall,
in
terms
of
the
application
itself.
I
also
thought
it
was
a
strong
application.
I
also
thought
you
know
the
building
the
size.
The
self-containment
was
something
that
worked
really
well
their
diversity
plan.
F
I
thought
was
extremely
impressive
and
the
people
that
they
have
leading
that
that
charge
are
those
that
fully
confident
they'll
be
able
to
implement
them
so
but
yeah,
but
overall,
a
strong
application.
But
I
I
did
want
to
see
if
there
was
some
way
that
we
could
maybe
offer
a
little
more
information
during
the
initial
hearings
before
testimony.
A
We
didn't
know
what
to
expect,
but
it
was
actually
very
productive
and
thank
you
to
jasmine
and
chayla
white
for
participating,
and
it
was
just
an
opportunity
for
applicants
to
ask
us
questions
and
community
members,
so
we
actually
together
a
slide
deck
as
well
and
we'll
be
sharing
that
I
did
turn
off
the
chat
function
because
we're
not
accepting
testimony.
There
was
a
comment
in
the
chat
function
before
I
turned
it
off
about
the
applicant
working
this
applicant
working
with
the
community.
A
I
do
want
to
make
clear
that
all
of
both
the
opposition
and
support
our
public
record,
we
received
files
of
about
approximately
180
letters
of
support,
in
addition
to
opposition.
So
that's
all
public
record,
just
like
the
scoresheet,
so
anyone
can
can
ask
for
that
at
any
time.
But
just
a
reminder,
I
did
turn
off
the
off
the
chat
because
we're
not
not
taking
public
comment,
and
so
with
that
I'll
return
to
chairwoman
joyce
for
a
motion.
B
Thanks-
and
I
do
just
want
to
repeat
that
there
was
significant
support
as
well.
It
may
have
seemed
lopsided
as
the
emails
came
in,
because
the
support
came
in
one
one
electronic
file,
so
all
that
taking
into
consideration
in
what's
been
presented
to
us
at
the
last
hearing
and
what
we've
talked
about
today,
I
make
a
motion
to
grant
this
applicant
a
license
are.
A
Thank
you
calling
legal
greens
llc.
The
proposed
license.
Premise
is
693
dudley
street
in
dorchester.
This
is
an
application
for
a
recreational
cannabis.
Dispensary
license
the
hours
of
operation
would
be
11
am
to
8
pm.
This
is
a
certified
equity
applicant.
The
date
of
the
initial
application
was
may
14
2019.
A
The
data
filing
with
inspectional
services
was
june,
25th
2019
and
the
date
of
the
community
meeting
was
september.
4Th
2019
this
applicant
does
have
a
buffer
zone
conflict.
It
is
located
within
a
half
mile
of
an
existing
establishment.
This
matter
was
previously
deferred
to
allow
the
applicant
to
access
technical
assistance
to
the
office
of
economic
development.
B
Thanks
leslie
a
couple
of
things
with
this
application,
I
think
what
we
saw
last
week
presented
was
much
improved
and
I
think
deferring
them
to
technical
assistance
was
very
helpful.
I
think,
was
a
strong,
stronger
application,
I'm
taking
a
look
at
this
from
the
fact
that
they
are
equity,
and
this
is
also
in
a
buffer
zone
and
the
fact
that
they
haven't
had
a
public
meeting
since
2019,
and
I
only
saw
one
letter
of
support.
B
I
saw
a
whole
bunch
of
form
letters
with
three
or
four
sentences
and
people's
addresses
that
weren't,
even
in
the
neighborhood
submitted,
and
to
me
that
doesn't
mean
it's
not
a
good
application
to
me.
That
means
they
need
another
public
meeting.
They
need
to
continue
to
work
with
their
neighborhood.
I
I
still
think
that
this
could.
This
could
benefit
from
some
more
work
and
I'd
like
to
see
to
see
them
reach
out
to
the
community.
Some
more.
A
C
I
I
agree
with
the
chairwoman.
I
think
there
needs
to
be
a
little
bit
more
work
within
the
community,
not
only
because
of
the
buffer
zone,
but
just
as
she
said,
the
last
meeting
was
in
2019,
I'm
always
chain
letters.
Don't
really
do
it
for
me,
I'd
like
to
see
some
real,
some
real
remarks
from
people
who
actually
abut
the
business
who
live
in
that
neighborhood.
C
D
F
F
You
know
that
sometimes
it's
hard
to
get
people
in
the
middle
of
the
day,
but
that
or
even
to
to
send
letters
who
have
you
know
very
busy
lives,
but
that
you
know
it
is
something
that
is
extremely
important
and
on
the
onus
of
the
person
seeking
to
get
the
establishment
to
to
do
that.
So,
even
when
that's
difficult
is
something
that's
hugely
important
and
something
that
we
looked
to
and
and
also
in
terms
of
just
the
higher
standard
of
it
being
in
the
buffer
zone.
F
The
importance
that
all
of
the
elements
that
are
part
of
their
application
are
really
fully
fledged
out
and
that
we're
able
to
with
confidence
know
that
they're
succeed,
because
we
we
really
want.
You
know
we.
We
want
their
success
so
so
yeah.
But
overall
you
know
definitely
an
improvement,
huge
improvement,
but
there
could
be
a
little
bit
more.
A
A
Absolutely
so
this
as
discussed
this
was
deferred
originally
deferring,
would
simply
until
the
applicant
decided
that
they
had
done
more
work
to
come
back
for
us,
which
simply
just
kind
of
move
it
down.
The
line
rejecting
without
prejudice
would
allow
the
applicant
to
reapply
at
any
time,
but
would
actually
trigger
that
community
process
requirement,
and
because
this
is
a
certified
equity
applicant,
they
don't
go
to
the
bottom
of
the
queue
in
terms
of
scheduling.
Once
they
had
completed
that
going
through
the
community
process,
they
would
be
put
back
on
for
the
next
agenda.