Swampscott Town Meeting members set medical marijuana facility parameters

SWAMPSCOTT – If Swampscott is to house a medical marijuana facility, it will be located in the “industrial district,” an area typically known as the quarry.At Town Meeting Monday, members approved Article 13, put forth by the Planning Board, that amended zoning bylaws to restrict a facility to that area. Chairman Angela Ippolito said it was to provide for the state-required distance from schools and libraries.Former Selectman Barry Greenfield stood in opposition of the article, his point being that the operators of the marijuana facility should have the same business opportunity as those running a liquor store in Vinnin Square.?It seems as though we?re going to force the business to run at a quarry,” said Greenfield.Ippolito responded that there were “buildable sites” in the industrial district. “It doesn?t locate it at the base of a crater in the quarry,” she told members.Town Administrator Thomas Younger said there was one other potential site considered, which he did not name, but it was in a “somewhat mixed commercial and residential area.”?This is being proactive,” said Younger. “We?re not banning it.”Members passed the article unanimously.