NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Mayor Jennifer Macksey said she will be challenging the planned outdoor cannabis cultivation site on Ashland Street. 

 

The Planning Board last Monday gave the OK for Ruby Farms to develop 537 Ashland St. as an outdoor grow and processing site. That's prompted petitions from surrounding neighbors opposed to the facility.

 

Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday that she has put the matter into the hands of the city's legal counsel. 

 

"I don't like what happened the other night at the Planning Board meeting. I will not shortchange the people on this petition. the neighborhoods, and I hope you won't either," the mayor said. 

 

Diane Parsons of Highland Avenue said during open forum that abuttors within 300 feet were notified of the hearing but her research has found that the smells from cannabis can spread more than 1,500 feet. 

 

That's prompted the petition that has circulated throughout the neighborhoods near the site that states concerns "on the basis of stench and security issues."

 

"We suspect that this business will negatively impact our property values and our quality of life, especially during the growing season and harvesting when we want to enjoy the outdoors," Parsons read from the petition, adding "that's a very simple statement and people signed on the basis of its simplicity."

 

The mayor had urged the Planning Board to continue last week's public hearing. Planners had raised a number of issues about the proposal and had seemed to be leaning toward continuing the hearing but voted to approve with conditions. 

 

One of those conditions was the dependence on the approval of the Conservation Commission, which continued its hearing on the plans from its March 2 meeting. Parsons said she planned to attend the next commission meeting. 

 

"I hope you can back our petition and put a halt to this or put some brakes on this operation," she said to the council during open forum.

 

Macksey said she had several issues with the cannabis proposal, including an incorrect map, parking and security issues, and the lack of public participation because the hearing was held on Zoom. 

 

"I'm here tonight to let the City Council know that we will be questioning the entire process for this outdoor cultivation from start to finish," she said. "Specifically the odor mitigation in regards to the potential impact that it has on the college, Joe Wolfe Field, Child Care of the Berkshires, but most importantly, the adjacent neighbors."

 

The mayor called for a more robust site review and consideration of the surrounding neighborhoods, especially in regard to odor.

 

"As we move forward beyond this, I asked that the City Council work with me in future weeks to review the current ordinance and consider amending the outside cultivation piece of the cannabis ordinance," she added. 

 

Macksey said she wasn't against cannabis but its effect on neighborhoods. 

 

Councilor Marie T. Harpin noted the community host agreement for Ruby Farms (New England Alchemy) had been signed on Nov. 15, 2021, during the last administration. She said she had looked for the community outreach meeting in October and found it on YouTube — it was seven minutes long and no one attended. 

 

A public notice of the community meeting on Oct. 7, 2021, was published by The Berkshire Eagle but was not posted on the city's meeting calendar.