LYNN — A local church plans to appeal the City Council’s decision to approve a recreational marijuana shop that would operate in its East Lynn neighborhood, according to its pastor.
Last month, the City Council voted, 9-1, to issue the city’s eighth and final recreational marijuana license to Diem Cannabis, an Oregon-based company that is planning to open a store at 211-217 Lewis St.
The decision was controversial, as neighbors and members of the nearby Lynn Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church raised concerns about traffic and parking, and cited a general opposition to the sale of “drugs” in the neighborhood.
The situation boiled over a week after the City Council’s Feb. 11 vote to issue the company’s special permit when approximately 200 people, a majority of them the church’s congregation, herded into City Hall and stormed the mayor’s office to show their opposition to the planned pot shop.
After meeting with Mayor Thomas M. McGee and City Council President Darren Cyr last week, the church’s pastor Ervin Ochoa, who opposes the legalization and sale of recreational marijuana, said the Christian church plans to appeal the City Council’s vote.
The church has until Monday, 20 days after that decision was signed and filed in the City Clerk’s office, to file an appeal.
“We’re going to have 43 kids across the street at the church,” said Ochoa. “That’s not safe. If they do the same with school safety, (why not) respect the church?”
Ochoa said school-aged kids are at the Breed Street church, which he estimated is about 100 feet from the planned store, about four times a week. He is seeking to have the future business relocated, citing the city’s zoning ordinance, which prohibits marijuana shops from being located less than 100 feet from schools.
He said the city’s interest in the shop appears to be in seeking revenue, rather than public safety, as he believes the store’s sale of “drugs” would bring in more crime.
“If you don’t have appropriate places to put pot shops, maybe eight is too many,” said Ochoa. “Marijuana is something that’s destroying a lot of people’s lives. We already have a drug problem in Lynn. Making it legal is not going to help.”
Although Ochoa said having eight pot shops in Lynn is “ridiculous,” the city is required by state law to have at least that amount, which is based on its approximately 40 package stores.
City Solicitor George Markopoulos said Monday afternoon that no appeal has been filed, but if the church decides to move forward with a lawsuit, he said their “odds of succeeding would be very minimal.”
“They would have to show evidence that the City Council somehow superseded its authority,” said Markopoulos. “I believe it would be very difficult for them to do that. I think the City Council acted properly and took all the steps necessary in reviewing its decision. I don’t see how they can prevail.”
Markopoulos acknowledged that a lawsuit would delay the company’s opening, but he said the city would move immediately to have their case dismissed.
Chris Mitchem, Diem Cannabis CEO, said Monday he was unaware the church was considering an appeal and that he was “confused” because the company did everything that the city asked them to do, in terms of managing traffic and parking concerns.
Mitchem said Diem has been working with the city for more than a year to find an appropriate location for their business and has done “everything by the book.” The Lewis Street location approved last month was their third proposed site, he said.
“(We’ve been) the poster child for compliance,” said Mitchem. “There’s seven licenses already. For whatever reason, it’s become a flashpoint. We’re looking for the same shot that other people have already gotten. We want to do a good job.”
Following neighborhood opposition to, and eventual City Council rejection of their initial plans to open about 50 feet down the street at 229 Lewis St., or 1 Chestnut, Mitchem said the company was able to secure its current site, which has much better parking.
Mitchem said he empathizes with the church’s opposition to recreational marijuana, but Massachusetts voted for its legalization in 2016. The company’s store will be a secure, safe alternative to the marijuana that’s already being sold in the neighborhood through the black market, he added.
“I hope for the best and I hope that the City of Lynn can see us as a partner that’s coming in to create jobs, create tax revenue, fight the war on drugs, keep people from going to jail, and clean up the black market,” said Mitchem.
Mitchem said Diem plans to invest $1 million worth of renovations and security into the building. Under its host agreement with the city, the company would be required to provide Lynn with 6 percent of its annual gross revenues.
