Natick to seek pot license applicants starting Wednesday
Photo | Courtesy of Town of Natick
Natick Town Hall
More than one year after Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey rejected Natick’s moratorium on marijuana businesses, the town is expected to post a Request For Information to potential marijuana license applicants on the town's website on Wednesday, according to the James Freas, director of Community & Economic Development.
While Natick has insisted it needs more planning time to consider the new industry coming to town, Healey’s ruling at the close of 2018 said Natick, Plympton, and Rochester were not engaged in legitimate, ongoing planning processes that justified their requests for more time.
At the time, Healy said state law requires any temporary moratoriums must be limited to an ongoing planning need.
The matter of licensing was on the Board of Selectmen's Monday night's agenda,nut the matter was tabled, Freas said.
Natick Town Administrator Melissa Malone denied the town has been dragging its feet.
More than 100 marijuana licenses have been distributed statewide since pot has been legalized.
"We have been working very diligently, I don't think there's been a holdup," Malone said. "Our perception is that we've been working to ensure that we have something that is responsive to state law and responsive to the communities I think that's what's we have. This is a new industry and communities are working their way through it, and Natick has done a good job."
In 2016, more than 54% of Natick residents voted in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in Massachusetts.
Two years later, Town Meeting voted to create zoning necessary to permit pot shops and authorize the Board of Selectmen to issue licenses for two marijuana establishments.
More than four dozen companies have expressed an interest in opening a pot shop in Natick.
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