The town council spoke about making changes to the existing cannabis ordinance. Liaison to the Cannabis Task Force Councilwoman Cindy Matute-Brown reminded the council that decisions need to be made soon because cannabis license applications submissions begin on March 15.
Council President Susan McCartney remarked that she wanted the ordinance to be updated as soon as possible, so potential cannabis business owners will have all the information they need to submit their applications.
Councilman Bill Rutherford expressed his concern about the ordinance not including a buffer zone for houses of worship. He stated, “I want to just publicly register my disappointment that we currently do not have a buffer zone around churches, synagogues or houses of worship of any type.” He added, “I understand that there's a difficulty in town with regard to the buffer that's already been provided by schools. But I do think at the very least we need smoke-free zones or some other type of buffer for those. Certainly [a buffer around] the dispensary businesses around houses of worship.”