Hanson Grapples with New Cannabis Regulations, Explores Industrial Development

Town must implement social equity policy for marijuana businesses by May, receives grant to study potential of 7-acre industrial parcel

HANSON, MA - October 29 - Hanson's Select Board is facing new challenges as it navigates recent changes to state cannabis regulations and explores the development potential of town-owned land.

The board learned that the town must implement a social equity policy for cannabis businesses by May to comply with new state regulations. The policy would require streamlining application processes for social equity applicants and potentially reserving licenses for these businesses.

Town counsel Liz Lydon explained the new requirements, which include creating a transparent application process and posting decisions and statistics about marijuana establishments in town.

Lydon explained that the Town is required to adopt a social equity policy. “That policy has to include streamlining the application process for these applicants, providing all of the materials on the website, including permitting requirements, a contact person, what the process is to get a host community agreement, permitting for zoning, building permits," she said.

The regulations also require towns to meet one of three options for permitting social equity businesses, including adopting an ordinance to exclusively permit them for three years or creating a local approval process administered on a one-to-one basis with general applicants.

Board members expressed frustration with the new requirements, which come without additional state funding or support.

"It's really disappointing to see the state take that approach," said board chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. "It does seem like they sort of had a path that they were going down."

The board did not make any decisions Monday but plans to further discuss the issue and potentially bring it to town meeting for voter input.

In other business, the board heard a presentation on the development potential of a 7-acre town-owned parcel near the industrial park. Town Planner Tony De Frias said Hanson received a $98,826 grant from MassDevelopment to study the site.

Preliminary plans show the parcel could accommodate a 25,000-square-foot commercial or industrial building, even with wetland constraints.

"Even with all that, we can get a building on there that's about 25,000 square feet," De Frias said.

The board voted to allow De Frias to continue developing plans for the site, including seeking input from the Conservation Commission. The goal is to create a marketable package for potential buyers or developers.

"One of the pieces of feedback that we had gotten from people was like, look, the town should get their act together and do the permitting before you sell it, because developers are buying it for a song and a dance, and then they're just doing the permitting, flipping it around and turning it to somebody else after they go through conservation planning," FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

In other news, the board:

- Heard an update from the treasurer/collector on investments and tax collections. The town earned $374,646 in interest for fiscal year 2024, an increase of $147,000 from the previous year.

- Approved the use of the old Light Control building at Hawks Ave for cold storage by police, fire, and highway departments.

- Accepted resignations from a police officer and a library employee.

- Approved three one-day liquor licenses for upcoming events.

The board adjourned to executive session to discuss collective bargaining and litigation matters.