Wilton Town Manager Perry Ellsworth, center, goes over the details of the cannabis moratorium on Tuesday, Sept. 5. After reducing the fees for licenses, Wilton saw a sharp influx of new applications, warranting a moratorium. Brian Ponce/Franklin Journal
WILTON — The Wilton Board of Selectpersons voted on Tuesday, Sept. 5, to accept a moratorium as written on the licensing of adult use and medical cannabis establishments for a duration of 180 days. The moratorium will not go into effect until a public hearing is held, which the board set for Tuesday, Sept. 19.
The Select Board voted to have Town Manager Perry Ellsworth work with Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer, & Nelson, a New England-based law firm in Portland, to draft the moratorium at their last meeting in August. Talks of a moratorium have been off and on since February when the licensing fees for various levels of cannabis operations were reduced in Wilton.
The moratorium defines two different types of uses: medical use and adult use. It uses the term “marijuana business” and the term includes medical marijuana cultivation facility, medical marijuana caregiver retail store, medical marijuana products manufacturing facility, medical marijuana testing facility, adult use cultivation facility, adult use marijuana store, adult use products manufacturing facility, and adult use testing facility.
Once in effect, the moratorium will prohibit the town of Wilton to accept, process, or approve applications, including but not limited to business permits, building permits, certificates of occupancy, site plan reviews, conditional uses, or any other approval, relating to the establishment or operation of a marijuana business.
The effective date for the moratorium will be determined at the public hearing. Ellsworth stated to the Select Board that applications can be worked right up until the public hearing.
“If they haven’t been brought forward to either this board or to the Planning Board, they couldn’t now,” Ellsworth told the Select Board. “That’s the process we have to go through with the type of small town government we have.”
Prior to the moratorium, the Wilton Board of Selectpersons approved the formation of a Cannabis Ordinance committee in July. Comprised of members of the Select Board and Planning Board, the committee plans to review and make changes to ordinances relating to cannabis while the moratorium is in effect. The moratorium is expected to last 180 days, or six months, and can be extended if necessary.
Selectperson Mike Wells had asked at a previous meeting if the moratorium would take retroactive effect once it is approved, to which Ellsworth stated that those details would be discussed with their attorney when drafting the moratorium.
Selectperson Keith Swett asked if a minimum number of people is required to hold a special town meeting, to which Ellsworth said there wasn’t one.
Violations of the moratorium will result in fines, penalties, injunctive relief, and its reasonable attorney’s fees and costs in prosecuting any such violations.
More information on the public hearing, such as the time and location, will be announced. For further inquiries, contact the Wilton Town Office at [207] 645-4961
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