By Thomas Grillo
LYNN — City Councilors and Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy are set to invite marijuana dispensaries to the city as early as next month.
James Lamanna, the city’s attorney, presented a 19-page draft request for proposals for medical marijuana treatment centers Tuesday for the council to consider.
The city plans to invite applicants who have complied with the Department of Public Health’s (DPH) regulations and have been invited to submit an application to the state. Applicants will be required to negotiate a host agreement that will provide the city with funds, guarantees of safety and assurances that the products will not be sold to minors. The council will take up the matter at its next meeting on Oct. 11.
While no one has applied to the state’s Department of Public Health for approval, a handful of dispensary proponents have notified city officials that they tend to apply.
Landlord Patrick McGrath, who owns the Lynnway Mart Indoor Mall & Flea Market, told the council earlier this year that he intends to be the owner and operator of one of the clinics at his property at 491 Lynnway. He’s already invested $100,000 in licensing fees and intends, if he is granted permission, to employ 20 people at the dispensary, he said.
Former City Councilor Paul Crowley, trustee of the 12,000-square-foot Lynnway Sportscenter facility at 497 Lynnway, has filed an application with the Inspectional Services Department to change the use of the center to a medical marijuana clinic.
At a previous meeting, the city council approved a plan to bring two medical marijuana clinics to the city. Under the ordinance, the treatment center district would include the non-waterfront side of the Lynnway from Market Street to the General Edwards Bridge, two sites on Commercial Street and all properties on Route 107 from the Belden Bly Bridge to the intersection of Western and Murphy avenues.
Massachusetts voters legalized medical marijuana in 2012. In November, a ballot question will ask voters to legalize non-medical marijuana. Question 4 would legalize and create a commission to regulate marijuana in Massachusetts. Today, marijuana is only permitted for medicinal purposes. If approved, individuals at least 21 years old would be able to use, grow and possess pot.
The measure stipulates that individuals could possess less than 10 ounces of marijuana inside their homes and under one ounce in public. They could also grow up to six marijuana plants in their homes.
In other business before the council Tuesday, a group of neighbors urged councilors to oppose a 24-hour-a-day operation for a proposed Taco Bell at the Lynngate Shopping Plaza.
The eatery is planning to build a 2,500-square-foot restaurant on a portion of the parking lot in the shopping center at Boston and Stetson streets. Taco Bell is seeking approval from the Licensing Commission for special approval for the extended hours.
Residents who live behind the plaza say the late night hours will exacerbate traffic problems on Boston Street and disturb the neighborhood at all hours.
“You can count the number of fast food places we have within a quarter of a mile from Primo’s all the way down to Atha’s, enough is enough already,” said James Ferragamo, who lives nearby. “How many restaurants does Lynn need?”
Michael Rose, marketing coach for Charter Foods, the firm that franchises more than 200 Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s and KFC locations, said the Tennessee-based company has 24-hour operations in other regions of the country. Typically, he said, the restaurant closes at 11 p.m. and only the drive-thru is open all night. He promised to work with the neighbors.
Jack Griffin, a resident of the nearby 162-unit Stadium Condominiums on Locust Street, pleaded with the Licensing Committee to reject the plan.
“I am opposed to the 24-hour for the drive-thru,” he said. “Our community is a very beautifully-maintained operation. A Taco Bell is not a good fit.”
The council has scheduled a hearing on the matter for Oct. 11 and could take a vote on that night.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].