Planning, Zoning Recommend Cannabis Overlay Subcommittee

The Planning Board, Land Use Committee, and Zoning Bylaw Review Committee offered their initial opinions last night on the proposal to create a retail marijuana overlay in Burlington, and a common theme was the recommendation to establish a cannabis overlay subcommittee. This group would take on the work of ensuring the proposed general and zoning bylaws accounted for all the considerations brought up at last night's meeting and would create their own overlay rather than using the one proposed by Town Meeting Member Alex Rutfield on behalf of community proponent Will Seagaard.

Several concerns were raised by members of the bodies in attendance, many of whom felt that the article as presented was not thorough enough to address the issues neighboring communities such as Woburn and Billerica have worked to address since recreational cannabis sales began in their municipalities. Seagaard said his attorney and Town Counsel have both looked at the General Bylaw companion to this article, and the reason the language seems light is that the state laws are so clear. Nonetheless, members say state laws can change and they prefer to have all the requirements clearly laid out in a local bylaw, should one be approved.

Betsey Hughes, Vice Chair of the Zoning Bylaw Review Committee, shared a lengthy list of things to consider in comparison with the bylaws of neighboring cities and towns. She also recalled that many members of the business community were against being located near a recreational cannabis dispensary when the initial discussion was had in 2017, out of concern that employees would come to work under the influence.

As this was an initial conversation, the article was meant to be a starting point for discussion, and the feedback will surely be incorporated into future iterations of this draft article. A cannabis overlay subcommittee was not formed at this meeting and would likely need to start with the Select Board.

Several more proposed articles for September's Town Meeting were presented, and members voiced their thoughts. No votes were taken.

• A zoning bylaw amendment to allow a new freestanding sign on the Town Common was presented by Town Administration and the Select Board. This is a rehash of an article that was postponed after a lengthy discussion at the January 2023 Town Meeting. A mockup of what the sign might look like on the corner of Bedford and Cambridge Street was presented. The sign would be used to display messages about events around town and would take the place of the two poles where banners hang to advertise upcoming events. Members of the Board and of the Zoning Bylaw Review Committee had mixed reactions to this one, with some being in favor and others saying a sign on the corner of the Town Common is unnecessary with all the other ways to reach people in town. They gave some technical recommendations, too, and will revisit this discussion at the next Planning Board meeting.
• A change to the zoning bylaws to allow diesel (rather than gas) generators for public school buildings is being proposed, and many Board and Committee members supported the idea of extending this to all municipal buildings. The idea of using these buildings as an emergency shelter with that backup power was also discussed.
• The shopping center where Old Navy and Five Guys are located would like to be rezoned into the General Business district. Currently it's in the Retail Industrial zone, and it is the only property within that zone. The group was favorable on this move.
• A couple of housekeeping followups to the parking & landscaping and use table articles approved at May Town Meeting were introduced.
• The Economic Development department proposes to update the language in the bylaws pertaining to "Retail Experiential and Commercial Interactive Venue," which as of now makes it so that these kinds of immersive or experiential uses are only allowed in conjunction with a restaurant.
• An addition to the town's sign bylaws that addresses temporary signs is being proposed by the Economic Development Department; proponents say allowing temporary signs would help smaller businesses, but the group did worry about muddying the waters since the Town Center Signage District bylaw proposal is also going to be before an upcoming Town Meeting. The groups involved will coordinate and decide what's best strategically for those two articles.

The next meeting of the Planning Board will be on August 15, 2024, which means the proponents for all these articles have a month to shape them up before they're next discussed.