SAUGUS — After a review period that stretched across five months, Town Manager Scott Crabtree and the committee he established to review cannabis companies seeking to open in town issued their recommendations Monday evening, urging the Board of Selectmen to issue S2 permits to Uma Flowers and Sanctuary Medicinals.
The Marijuana Establishment Review Committee was tasked with reviewing seven responses to a request for information issued by Crabtree’s office. In its report, the committee unanimously recommended Uma Flowers, with a proposed location of 24 Broadway, as its top choice, with Sanctuary Medicinals deemed the best selection on the southbound side of the highway, at 181 Broadway.
The report includes a ranked order of preference determined by the committee, made up of Crabtree, Police Chief Michael Ricciardelli, Fire Chief Michael Newbury, Planning Board Vice Chair Jeannie Meredith, Director of Public Health John Fralick, Building Commissioner Michael LaVecchia, and Procurement Director Michele Wendell. Following Uma Flowers and Sanctuary Medicinals are, in order, Triple M, Olde World Remedies, NortheastCann, Bostica, and Broadway Cannabis.
While the recommendations Monday add a tremendous amount of clarity to the process, Board of Selectmen Chairman Anthony Cogliano indicated he would like to bring all seven companies before his board for review — likely as soon as August. Cogliano’s board is ultimately responsible for issuing up to three S2 permits to cannabis companies.
Uma Flowers was selected as the top choice because of a variety of factors, particularly its location, which “offers a variety of potential benefits” according to the report. The specific factors cited are the distance from an existing dispensary in Malden, and the fact that the site is zoned properly, has been cleared, and offers good traffic flow. The committee also praised the site plan submitted by the company.
With an existing location in Pepperell, the company displayed “a well-run business with ample parking, exemplary security, and organized premises” during a site visit conducted by the committee. Curiously, the report cites Cogliano as telling the applicant a license was already granted to Bostica’s proposed location at 44 Broadway, the former site of the Oye restaurant, which is two doors down from Uma’s proposed location at 24 Broadway.
Cogliano denied doing so, adding that he believed the anecdote in the report was “a way for the town manager to throw in a dig against me.”
Sanctuary Medicinals was not rated as highly by the committee, with some concern about its location next to a Salvation Army Rehab Center. But, research by committee members looking into similar situations in other communities found few issues posed by the adjacency.
The committee was impressed with the company’s experience, with three medical and two adult-use dispensaries already operating in the state and a cultivation facility open in Littleton.
“Similar to farm-to-table or seed-to-sale, the respondent can grow the cannabis, process, distribute, and sell it to the customer all on their own,” the report reads. “Their experience and expertise in the industry is a significant advantage and on display throughout the presentation and site visit.”
Cogliano, who lobbied Town Meeting to amend the town’s zoning bylaws to permit cannabis companies, criticized the report’s determinations. He said the locations recommended by the committee “aren’t the best for Saugus residents,” in part because they are situated north of Walnut Street. He said the site of the Avalon Motel at 1529 Broadway, NortheastCann’s proposed location, would have been his top choice.
There, the town could “kill two birds with one stone” by “getting rid of that nightmare,” he said.
But the committee found numerous issues with the site and the proposal, including a lack of experience from NortheastCann, which does not have any open and operating facilities.
“With no existing retail cannabis location open, the Review Committee found it difficult to adequately determine how the respondent would run their business,” the report reads. “Access to the [proposed] site is difficult, particularly entering and exiting out of the lot due to significant traffic congestion in the immediate area.”
The report went on to cite issues with the remaining proposed locations, with the parking and spatial requirements of those plans referenced repeatedly. One company, Broadway Cannabis, was found deficient across the board by each member of the committee.
The announcement Monday came two days after a final deadline for the committee to issue recommendations set by the Board of Selectmen. That followed an initial April deadline, which came and went with no public communication from the committee.
With the recommendations in hand, the Selectmen are now poised to take action on the issuance of permits this summer, with Cogliano indicating he intends to host hearings as soon as August. But, the actual issuance could be an uphill battle. Four votes are necessary to approve an S2 permit application, and Board member Jeff Cicolini is required to recuse himself.
Cicolini attributed the recusal to the fact that his accounting firm does business with one of the companies applying for a location in Saugus.
With Cicolini unable to vote, Cogliano, Vice Chair Debra Panetta, Corinne Riley, and Michael Serino have to vote unanimously to approve any of the proposals.
Riley has historically voted with Cogliano on major issues before the board while Panetta and Serino typically vote together, often on the opposite side of Cogliano and Riley. Cicolini usually serves as the board’s swing vote.
Panetta and Serino have repeatedly backed Crabtree, including voting to support his most recent contract extension. Cogliano, on the other hand, has been a vocal critic of the town manager, most recently on the multiple delays in the issuance of the committee’s report.
“I see this process taking a very long time as I will do my own due diligence into all the applications and locations,” said Cogliano, who moderated community outreach meetings for six of the seven applicants. “I want to hear from all of them.”
