Hartford Business Journal

14 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 28, 2021 Planning & Zoning Here's how municipalities are preparing for the recreational marijuana industry By Skyler Frazer sfrazer@hartfordbusiness.com A t least 30% of Connecticut municipalities have banned or instituted a moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses, according to data tracked by the Department of Consumer Protection, posing serious challenges for the industry as it looks to get off the ground in the months ahead. But cities and towns that embrace the sector early on – at least 12 have established zoning rules permitting adult-use cannabis companies, according to DCP – will have an advantage in spurring potential economic development activity when the recreational market officially launches, potentially by the end of this year, experts said. "There's no doubt that there's a commercial sector that's coming to life out there and it's focusing on communities where there aren't currently moratoriums," said Ed Lavernoich, president of the Bridgeport Economic Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization that advocates for economic and community development in Connecticut's most populated city. Bridgeport has approved regulations allowing adult-use cannabis businesses, as have a number of Greater Hartford cities and towns, including Hartford, East Hartford, Manchester and East Windsor. DCP has developed a database that tracks how municipalities are regulating the industry. As of Feb. 22, 38 municipalities have instituted moratoriums, 14 prohibited cannabis businesses, and 12 have greenlit the industry, DCP data shows. "Zoning definitely gives more clarity to the process [of opening a cannabis business]," said Daniel Glissman, a partner at Hartford law firm MacDermid Reynolds & Glissman. "If there's zoning in place, that helps the applicants, the operators know where they need to be looking for locations." Strategic zoning Tracking local zoning rules has become a bit of a cottage industry for firms offering legal and other advisory services to cannabis companies. Knowing which municipalities are receptive to the industry is key in determining where prospective companies – ranging from dispensaries and production facilities to packing companies and delivery services – can locate their business. Even cities and towns allowing adult-use establishments have their own patchwork of rules and regulations that typically restrict where companies can locate. Glissman said he's developed his own database tracking local cannabis zoning rules. So has law firm Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey. Jacqueline Kaufman, a partner at the New Haven-based firm, said many local planning boards are still in the early stages of developing zoning regulations. Many have enacted moratoriums so they can consult with attorneys and other advisors, and get a feel for what their residents want. She said she remembers a similar wave of moratoriums and bans when Connecticut legalized medical marijuana. Kaufman said moratoriums were smart policy in some cases simply because there was so much uncertainty over how the industry would take shape – including how many licenses would be available for each business type – after the law passed last June. "They decided, 'we're going to put this on ice. We are going to adopt a one-year moratorium to study Jacqueline Kaufman Daniel Glissman THESE MUNICIPALITIES HAVE APPROVED ZONING RULES PERMITTING ADULT-USE CANNABIS BUSINESSES: Bridgeport East Hartford East Lyme East Windsor Hartford Manchester Meriden Middletown Newington Suffield Thompson Vernon Source: Department of Consumer Protection Curaleaf employees tend to budding marijuana plants at the company's Simsbury grow facility, which has plans to triple its production to serve the coming recreational market. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER

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