HOULTON, Maine — The fate of recreational retail marijuana shops and commercial growing facilities in town will be decided by voters this November after all.
Organizers of two citizen-driven petitions ultimately got their way Monday evening when the Houlton town council refused to revisit an ordinance it approved on July 24. That ordinance sought to regulate where commercial growing facilities and retail establishments could be located within the town.
About 40 individuals attended Monday night’s meeting, which was a far cry from the more than 100 that packed that council chambers on July 24, when the council adopted its retail marijuana ordinance.
The matter was back in front of the council because of successful citizen-led petition efforts. One petition seeks to repeal the town’s new ordinance, while a second seeks to ban all retail marijuana in Houlton.
Since the council opted not to reconsider its ordinance, the matter will now go to a public referendum vote in November, according to Interim Town Manager Cathy O’Leary.
“We, the council, did not approve this (marijuana legalization), the state did,” said councilor Raymond Jay. “We were dealt a dirty hand and we have to deal with it. Back in February, this place was packed with people in favor of marijuana. So we went on what the people that were here that night wanted.”
Jay was referencing the Feb. 21 council meeting where several individuals spoke in favor of commercial marijuana operations and praised the town for its forward thinking.
Monday evening, every member of the public who spoke during the council meeting voiced opposition to the town’s plans of welcoming retail marijuana businesses and commercial growers.
“The state may have passed recreational marijuana (in November), but every town in Aroostook County was opposed,” said Joan Barton, one of the organizers of the petitions. “It seems to me that the people of your community have already spoken. We believe you must go back to the people to hear them again.”
Elsewhere in The County, Fort Kent approved a ban on retail marijuana, but Madawaska voters did not. The city of Caribou also passed a temporary ban on retail marijuana earlier this summer.
Some of the speakers on Monday also chastised councilors for ignoring the local results of the statewide November 2016 referendum. At the polls last November, Houlton residents voted 935 in favor of recreational marijuana, while 1,762 were opposed to legalizing it.
Supporters of the ordinance have argued that the town could benefit financially by welcoming growers and retail businesses to the community, as Houlton owns numerous parcels of undeveloped land in its industrial park.
That increase in revenue could be used to help offset declining income from property taxes as well as a loss of nearly $922,000 in state funding over the past 10 years, Tax Assessor Laureen Bither said Monday.
Councilor Jay said the board created its ordinance as a compromise to regulate where commercial growers could be located within the town limits, while still allowing the businesses in order to bring much-needed revenue into the community.
“I’m sorry, but everyone wants to hit on the council for doing what nobody else wanted to do,” Jay said. “I wanted to isolate it away from our children (by restricting it to the industrial park). What we are seeing now, with the smells, is only going to get worse if we don’t do something about it.”
Jay added that it was the responsibility of parents to educate their children about marijuana and any other drugs.
Councilor Sue Waite-York said she felt those in opposition to the town’s plans were not willing to hear “the rest of the story.”
“We have to look at the whole picture,” she said. “I chastise the people who have come forward (in opposition) for not being willing to look at the other side of the picture. They are not seeing the facts that this town is in trouble. Our mill rate is going up. You have to have more understanding for what this was intended as. It’s here. It’s been here. Everybody I know grows it and is making money on it. Let’s legalize it and regulate it.”
“I respect what everyone is saying here, so my vote will be to send it to the voters,” councilor Chris Robinson added.
Councilor Jane Torres said she took exception to accusations made by some speaking Monday that the council acted inappropriately in approving its ordinance.
“We have a town attorney that watches us very closely, as does our acting town manager,” Torres said. “There are no backroom deals. We’ve done the best with what we have. I really resent people who say we are not.”
Torres added that members of the council have heard information from both those in favor and those opposed to marijuana and made their decision to move forward as they felt was in the best interests of the town.
