PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Zoning Board of Appeals denied a special permit for a medical marijuana dispensary at the former KFC because members felt it would be detrimental to the character of the neighborhood.

 

Happy Valley Compassion Center was looking to turn the former Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant into a medical marijuana dispensary — provided it received all of the necessary approvals from state and local government.

 

But, the Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously rejected the company's application for a permit on the grounds that it would change the character of the neighborhood.

 

"Even though this is zoned commercial, there are residences where it is going to be," said ZBA member John  Fitzgerald.  "There are still people who live in that area. I am concerned about that." 

 

George Haddad, president of the Haddad Dealerships on the other side of the street, neighbor Michael O'Keefe, and resident Jessie Griffin all spoke at Wednesday's hearing opposing the operations. All of them said the facility would pose of a threat to schoolchildren at Pittsfield High School, nearby daycares, pediatrician's offices, and residents.

 

"It doesn't need to be on East Street in a highly commercial area where people invested a whole lot of money to revitalize East Street," Haddad said. "I don't think it is good for the character of our neighborhood."

 

The site is commercially zoned but some of the nearby uses include Chin Bo Jok Martial Arts Academy for children, Kids Zone Day Care Center, and parks and doctor's offices. The site does, however, conform the state regulation that no public schools or parks are within 500 feet — those other uses fall either outside of the perimeter or aren't include in the laws. 

 

The property is also about 160 feet from a bar, The Home Plate, and closer to Teddy's, which has a liquor license, than it is to Pittsfield High School.

 

Further, the city's zoning laws allows for other uses of the property including a pharmacy, which distributes an array other prescription drugs with less security required, and even a tavern to operate there without needing a special permit. Those uses are by-right.

 

But, since the city does require a special permit for a medical marijuana facility, the ZBA has the ability to deny a permit based on the character of the neighborhood.

 

ZBA member Miriam Maduro questioned the opponents on what the difference is between the bars and a medical marijuana facility. Attorney Jesse Cook-Dubin, representing Haddad, said liquor concerns don't cause the same impact because those with liquor licenses control it on premises.

 

"This is designed to be taken outside of the premises," Cook-Dubin said.

 

The facility was expecting to see about 150 vehicle per day, on a stretch of road that sees some 19,000 vehicle trips per day. 

 

"The traffic into the site is going to be a dramatic reduction from what it was when it was a fast food restaurant," said David Frothingham III, an engineer with Wilcox and Barton. 

 

Cook-Dubin suggested the site was chosen for that specific reason — to be visible with a lit up sign. He suggested the company would shortly be turned into a recreational facility if the ballot question passes making the drug legal for such use in November. 

 

"There is no accident that they picked this stretch of road ...  This is not in a medical area at all," Cook-Dubin said. "It is not designed to protect the privacy of the patients ... This looks like an opportunistic location to pick up on exposure and traffic." 

 

The state has so far said those with medical marijuana permits would have first crack at changing into recreational facilities. Happy Valley CEO Jim Coumiham said the recreational facilities would be an entirely different program altogether, which the state hasn't even developed yet.

 

ZBA member Thomas Goggins felt that wasn't a good location for even a fast food restaurant because of traffic issues, and those concerns coupled with the other nearby operations led him to vote against the permit. O'Keefe also voiced concern about the traffic saying there are accidents in that area "three or four times a week." 

 

"I don't know how we can justify putting a medical dispensary in an area that cannot handle the traffic we have now. And I certainly don't want it as my next-door neighbor because of all the things that come with it," O'Keefe said. 

 

He also said there are many children walking up and down the area and playing at the park on the other end of Lyman Street. Currently, he says there are issues with vandalism in the area and he believes a medical marijuana facility would make things worse.

 

The company was in the process of securing a license from the state Department of Public Health to operate the facility. The medicine was eyed to be cultivated in Bernardston and then shipped to the facility. All of the security for the site conforms with state laws, according to Coumiham.

 

"We have erred on the side of caution," Coumiham said. 

 

Coumiham said the company is contracting out the security. A patient is required to show his state-issued card at the door to even be let into the reception area. From there, the card needs to be verified through the state's system. The entire interior and exterior would have surveillance cameras. The facility was planned to be open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. serving an estimated 130 patients a day.

 

"There will be a full access control system, encrypted data cards, motion detecting systems," Coumiham said.

 

The company said they expected four full-time people, all of whom need to be certified by the state, to work there and an security guard. That level of security made Haddad to pose to rhetorical question, why is that all needed? And suggested it would attract a bad crowd.

 

Haddad said when he bought some 33 acres of property on Route 7 near the Lenox border he had trouble developing it because other businessmen were concerned about the adult entertainment shop on the property. He said as soon as the lease ran out, he refused to allow the company to resign because "it shouldn't have been at the entrance of the city."

 

And that is the way he feels about the East Street area. He feels medical marijuana can operate in much better neighborhoods than one that is on the cusp of revitalization with the Berkshire Innovation Center, the cleaning of Silver Lake and private investments in local businesses there.

 

The ZBA was also concerned about the signage, saying the 3 1/2-foot by 9-foot sign was too much.

 

"With this type of building you want to be as discrete as possible," Fitzgerald said. "To me it is not something you want glaring out in general ... I would hope they put something attractive, low, and discrete."

 

Resident Griffin said such a facility doesn't have to be downtown because those looking to go there will find such an operation wherever it is. She also voiced concern about students getting access to marijuana. 

 

"With the drug problems we have in Pittsfield, the amount of people on pills and crack cocaine, and on heroin ... I can see this becoming a problem," she said. 

 

ZBA member Esther Bolan said this application was unlike other medical marijuana facilities that have received special permits because of the location.

 

"It is a very different commercial type of neighborhood than the other ones we have done," she said, pointing out that the dispensary eyed for Dalton Avenue is surrounded by commercial uses and not residential or parks.

 

Those who spoke against the permit made an impression on Maduro, who said those stakeholders know the community and the neighborhood.

 

"They know the character of the community and have life experience and understand what a facility like this will od for their neighborhood," she said.

 

This is the second business planned for that area to be rejected permits to open. Earlier this year, the Board of Health denied a tobacco license for a company looking to open a gas station and convenience store in close proximity. In that case, the city had already capped the number of permits and none was available — but that wasn't communicated to the proprietors prior to purchasing the property and applying for permits.