SAUGUS — Board of Selectmen Chair Debra Panetta and member Michael Serino spoke at Monday night’s Town Meeting on the article they submitted to amend the zoning bylaw for marijuana establishments.
On May 15, the two selectmen spoke at the Planning Board meeting, and the board recommended 4-0 in favor of the passing of the article.
The amendment would limit the number of marijuana establishments to two, one on each side of Route 1.
“Town Meeting voted back in May 2022 to approve a change amending the town zoning bylaws to allow for adult use marijuana establishments in our town,” Panetta said.
She then went into detail about how the town has been sued multiple times by marijuana establishments since that change was made.
“We have spent tens of thousands of dollars in law suits,” she said. Panetta continued that they have yet to see any benefit.
“I want to do whatever we possibly can to protect our community,” she said.
Serino spoke after Panetta, and stood in agreement with her and mentioned that a majority of voters did not support bringing marijuana establishments into the town.
“I think we need to protect the town and I hope that you do support the (idea) of one on the northbound lane and one on the southbound lane. That’s all we really need,” he said.
Town Meeting member Martin Costello also spoke about the article.
“I’m going to support this article. I don’t want to be an impediment to full enterprise and I’m fully aware of the fact that the town had suffered with regard to litigation in the past in trying to prevent these establishments from setting up shop here in Saugus,” Costello said.
He added that he would be concerned that, without the limitations, the places will try to expand and put lounges in. He also pulled out an article from The Globe that showed that most marijuana establishments are not doing well due to an oversupply of cannabis and that some of it is significantly more powerful than it used to be.
“The crux of the article is that we get these things done. We stop the litigation. We won’t have an expansion where the will be lunges there and people can go in get high and go on Route 1 because it’s already a horror show out there now,” he said.
Town Meeting member Kristi Talagan also joined in on the discussion, stating she had been an educator for 30 years in Chelsea and she is now a compliance trainer for the Cannabis Control Commission.
“I’ve trained 10,000 agents in regulatory rules and regulations. I do support the two on each side of the highway, but I must say that these businesses are like any other business. There are strict regulatory control issues,” Talagan said.
She continued that the wave of revenue was lost in the cannabis industry.
“I do support it, but there are some very reputable business out there, and yes, there are some that I work with that are not. As far as litigation goes there’s a lot of that,” she said.
Town Meeting member Jean Bartolo was next up at the podium to thank Panetta and Serino for keeping the establishments out of the neighborhoods.
The last to speak was Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian.
“Town council has often said to me, ‘When have you ever seen Town Meeting make a mistake?’ Well, I think when we went against the wishes of the voters that said no they didn’t want marijuana in Saugus I think… Town Meeting did make a mistake,” he said,
It was a unanimous vote to amend the town bylaw.
