Tom Skolfield, center, moderates the special town meeting at the Wilton Town Office on Tuesday, Oct. 17. Brian Ponce/Franklin Journal
WILTON — The town of Wilton convened on Tuesday, Oct. 17, for a special town meeting at the town office located at 158 Weld Road. Members of the town voted to enact a moratorium on cannabis licensing for a duration of 180 days along with several zoning ordinance changes in an effort to comply with state standards.
Tom Skolfield, former state house representative and selectperson of Weld, was elected unanimously by the Wilton Select Board as moderator. Roughly twenty people were in attendance, counting Skolfield and the select board, and four articles were voted upon with all passing unanimously.
Article two was to enact a moratorium on adult use and medical cannabis establishments for a period of 180 days. Town Manager Perry Ellsworth stated that, during this period, no new applications for adult use and medical cannabis operations, which include facilities for cultivation, products manufacturing, testing and retails stores, will be accepted.
Ellsworth also iterated to the public that the moratorium will give the Select Board and Planning Board time to rework their ordinances for cannabis businesses. He also stated that at any time, the moratorium can be reduced or extended if the Select Board feels it is appropriate.
The enacted moratorium comes after months of discussions and the formation of a committee to review and revise these ordinances. Talks began in April, but the roots of the issues took place early in the year when the Wilton Select Board voted to drastically reduce the cost of licensing for both retail shops and growth/cultivation.
Ellsworth began to stress the need for a moratorium to allow town officials to review and revise existing ordinances to accommodate the influx of new applications they were receiving.
“I feel that we’re out of control,” Ellsworth said at the Select Board meeting in April, going on to state that he didn’t want to see Wilton turn into the “pot capitol of the world.”
A committee was formed in July and featured members of the Select Board and Planning Board. For the duration of the moratorium, the committee will be tasked with reviewing ordinances relating to cannabis operations in the town of Wilton.
Ellsworth stated at the last Select Board meeting that he hoped the committee would establish more punitive measures for violators of ordinances, with Selectperson Mike Wells disagreeing with the assessment.
“Perry mentioned that we are rewriting the ordinance to have some teeth,” Wells said, “but in the past, even right now, the ordinance that we have has teeth which we have not utilized.”
Cannabis businesses that have existing applications that have either been approved or have met with the Planning Board or Select Board in some capacity will continue with their application as normal.
Articles three and four were in regards to zoning ordinance changes to reflect the Department of Environmental Protection [DEP] shoreland zoning requirements in Table B. Space and Bulk Standard. According to Code Enforcement Officer Gary Judkins, these changes are being made to get in line with state regulations.
“We have to, as a municipality, go by the more restrictive of the ordinances,” Judkins said at the meeting. “Their [ordinance] is more restrictive, so we’re trying to get in line with that.”
Article three proposed a change in the minimum setback to the high-water line of resource protection/watershed overlay from 100 ft. to 250 ft., as well as reducing stream protection of maximum non-vegetated surface area from 25% to 20%.
Article four amended the height requirement of structures near the high-water line, and they are as follows:
• If less than 25 ft. from high-water line, no height greater than 15 ft.
• If between 25 and 75 ft. from the high-water line, no height greater than 20 ft.
• If between 75 and 100 ft. from the high-water line, no height greater than 25 ft.
• If greater than 100 ft. from the high-water line, no height greater than 35 ft.
The article also included the clause, “In the resource protection district the setback requirement shall be 250 feet, horizontal distance, except for structures, roads, parking spaces or other regulated objects specifically allowed in that district in which case the setback requirements specified above shall apply. Exemptions to 250 foot setback which may allow for construction of a single-family dwelling, can be found in section 4.1.C.”
Article five amended Article two of Wilton Zoning Ordinance for non-conforming structures to reflect shoreland zoning mandatory requirements. It proposed that any portion of a structure that is less than any required setback, that portion may be expanded, as measured in floor area or volume, no greater than 30% in the lifetime of the structure.
Ellsworth elaborated that the current code is set at 29%. Wells took issue with the verbiage used in the article when compared to what is used in DEP’s Chapter 1000: Guidelines for Municipal Shoreland Zoning Ordinances, questioning if it needed to be changed again to match the words used in the state’s ordinances.
“What I see in the latest version is that it’s a 30% expansion in footprint,” Wells said. “Instead of square footage, they said footprint.”
Wells recited the passage in question, asking the board, “I don’t know if we want to put it in there, the footprint, and read verbatim from chapter 1000, or do we go a step beyond and say volume as well?”
Judkins clarified that volume has always been in Wilton’s shoreland zoning ordinance and the changes are only in relation to height, adding, “There was a permit that came to this municipality that did not meet those. That is why this is in there.”
Judkins confirmed the permit in question was for the property at 109 Lake Road.
Ellsworth stressed to Wells that the changes in height took priority, and any additional changes to the language of the article can be made at a future town meeting.
“You’re going to have, over the next six months, multiple changes to ordinances,” Ellsworth stated. “I think that getting from 29% to 30%, which is a requirement, is significant.
“We can add volume, or the verbiage that Mike spoke about earlier, at a later point,” he added.
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