The proposal comes on the heels of a statewide vote on Election Day in November that legalized the recreational use of marijuana. That law goes into effect at the end of January.
Town Attorney Dan Nelson shared a draft of the proposed ordinance with councilors and indicated that it was crafted from the medical marijuana ordinance that already is in effect in the community.
The ordinance seeks to regulate the location of commercial and retail establishments and facilities authorized under the state’s new law.
Under the proposed ordinance, the establishment of commercial or retail marijuana establishments or facilities will require review by the council as required by individual zoning districts and also will include a mandatory public hearing. The council will determine how many establishments will be allowed in the town at a future date, and such facilities only will be allowed in the airport or industrial zones or the “area adjacent to Houlton International Airport, the international border, south of Interstate 95 and the U.S. Customs loop.”
No such establishments will be allowed within drug-free safe zones or within 500 feet of a pre-existing private or public school, daycare facility, town park or public house of worship. The ordinance also addresses security requirements that must be maintained at any such facilities.
According to the document, a commercial or retail marijuana establishment must include a minimum of lockable doors and windows, including intrusion alarms with audible and police notification components sending an alert directly to or through a second party to the Houlton Police Department. Such establishments also will be required to have exterior security lighting consisting of spotlights with motion sensors covering the full perimeter of the facility, and video surveillance capable of covering the entire outside perimeter, as well as the interior and all plants cultivated within the facility. The video surveillance system must be operating continuously and recorded data kept for a minimum duration of 90 days.
Houlton passed an ordinance in 2011 governing where medical marijuana dispensaries are allowed in the community and where marijuana can be cultivated. That measure made changes to the town’s ordinances and codes and was drafted to comply with the state’s medical marijuana law that was approved by voters in 2009. Any such medical marijuana sites in town are required to set up within the airport and industrial zones, which are on the outskirts of town and not heavily populated with homes or businesses.
Thus far, no such dispensaries have been established in Houlton. There is only one registered medical marijuana dispensary located in Aroostook County. That is Safe Alternatives, which is located in Eagle Lake, according to information provided by state officials.
