LYNN — Despite pleas from Ward 1 Councilor Wayne Lozzi, the City Council voted Saturday to approve a company’s request to open a recreational marijuana store on Ford Street.
Lozzi was the lone vote in opposition to the request from Tree Market LLC, which received approval, by a 9-1 margin, to open a cannabis establishment at 100 Ford St., a location that borders both Ward 1 and Ward 5.
“This is a terrible location for a pot dispensary,” said Lozzi. “It’s located directly on the corner of Boston and Ford street, not even 100 feet away from the corner. The property is probably 50 feet. This will be a nightmare for traffic (coming) in and out.”
In addition to traffic concerns — which were also cited by two residents who spoke in opposition to the location during the virtual public hearing held this past Saturday — Lozzi took issue with the future store’s proximity to Manning Field and nearby fast food establishments, which he said are frequented by “hundreds of teenagers.”
“I’m adamantly opposed to this, and I urge my colleagues to vote ‘no’ on this,” said Lozzi.
Lozzi asserted that he has heard from numerous neighbors, who all oppose having a recreational cannabis establishment in the area, a claim that was disputed by Ward 5 Councilor Dianna Chakoutis, who said, “I have not heard any word of that.”
“None of the neighbors have complained,” said Chakoutis.
Both Chakoutis and Ward 2 Councilor Rick Starbard, who chairs the council’s Recreational Cannabis Site Plan Review Committee, which voted to send the application to the full City Council earlier this year, spoke in favor of the location before the vote.
“This proposal was voted unanimously for approval by the Cannabis Site Plan Review Committee,” said Starbard. “(We) have worked with the petitioners on a couple of other locations that didn’t work out.”
Ford Street is Tree Market LLC’s third proposed location for a recreational marijuana store in Lynn. With Saturday’s approval, the company forfeits its special permit for its initial location on Mount Vernon Street, which was approved by the City Council in February 2019.
An attorney for the company, Peter D’Agostino, said in January 2020 that his client had to find a new location because the MBTA had informed the city that there may be some permitting issues under the bridge on Mount Vernon Street.
At the time, Tree Market LLC had proposed a second location on Broad Street, a proposal that met some resistance from Mayor Thomas M. McGee and split the vote when it appeared before the Cannabis Site Plan Review Committee.
The split vote meant there was not a favorable recommendation to the full City Council for the company’s 212 Broad St. location in January 2020.
James Cowdell, Economic Development & Industrial Corporation of Lynn (EDIC/Lynn) executive director, and Assistant City Solicitor James Lamanna both voted against that second location, citing the potential for better use for the site, which is located near the downtown and is zoned for a 10-story residential development.
Starbard said McGee had some reservations about the site as well, as “he had hoped for something else in that location” on Broad Street.
As for the third location that was approved last Saturday, Starbard said the marijuana store would be located in a commercial area at the corner of Broad, Boston and Ford streets, and would meet a goal of the City Council, in terms of not having multiple dispensaries in the same location.
“It was the hope that we could disperse these facilities evenly around the city and this will address that,” said Starbard. “We want these dispensaries to be spread out. We want them to be successful and that’s why we’re in favor of this location.”
The timeline for when the store would open remains unclear, as D’Agostino did not return a phone call seeking comment on Monday, and the proposal was not outlined during Saturday’s public hearing.
