By Carol Britton Meyer

The town will soon accept applications from individuals or companies with an interest in operating a retail marijuana establishment in Hull through a five-page Request for Information (RFI) process, with a limit of two adult-use facilities permitted under the town’s zoning bylaw.

Alternative Compassion Services, which operates a medical marijuana dispensary on George Washington Boulevard, has already applied, along with one other applicant, Skarr Inc., owned by Mambo’s restaurant’s Anthony Ghosn.

The intent of the marijuana zoning articles that passed at the May 6 town meeting was to rectify and clarify procedural issues in the article that passed at the 2023 special town meeting intended to allow two retail establishments at one time, but not cultivation, testing, manufacturing, or on-site consumption.

Click here for the template for the Request for Information for retail shops.

State Attorney General approval is required for zoning bylaw changes adopted by town meeting (the town is awaiting a response) and also a referendum vote – possibly on the ballot for the November 5 presidential election – because state law requires one when a zoning bylaw change involves banned activities, Town Counsel James Lampke told the select board this week.

Board member Irwin Nesoff observed with regard to the required referendum that “putting out an RFI for marijuana retail establishments that has nothing to do with the banned activities” shouldn’t affect the application process.

Lampke noted that the role of the Attorney General’s office is to determine whether bylaw changes conflict “with any state laws or the Constitution. They do not serve in an advisory capacity to say whether something is good or bad. We anticipate the bylaw changes will be approved before the referendum.”

60-day timeframe for submitting applications

In the meantime, once the RFI is posted – on the town website, in The Hull Times, and possibly on social media – there will be a 60-day timeframe for submitting applications from that date.

“I don’t anticipate an abundance of applications, but we will start reviewing them as they come in,” Constable said, noting that the process is a lengthy one.

The select board reviewed and made changes to Constable’s draft RFI this week. The board ultimately approved the document, authorizing Constable and town counsel to review it, make any necessary changes for clarity, and then post the RFI.

However, Constable will bring the document back to the board if she or the town counsel feel any substantial changes are needed.

She explained that an RFI “is simply a notification to let potential applicants know that the Town of Hull has the opportunity for two retail establishments and is seeking applications. The process will take time. There are a lot of considerations.”

Interested parties are asked to submit a marijuana retail establishment plan to the town, which will use the RFI submittals to gauge interest and to determine the suitability of the respondents.

The information provided will be evaluated by the select board in consultation with Constable and town counsel, with the police and fire chiefs and other town department heads, to conduct a preliminary review of the applications.

Upon completion of this review, Constable will present her findings to the board and make recommendations regarding which, if any, respondents should receive further consideration for interviews and a final review.

The town reserves the right to reject any application it considers to be incomplete. That said, it may, at its discretion, request that the respondent provide omitted information or further clarifications.

Respondents may be asked to present their application in person to the select board and respond to questions.

Business model required

Applicants are also asked to provide their financials, including projected revenues and expenses, and a business model. Abutter notification is part of the process.

The same holds true for creating a diversity plan to promote equity among minorities, women, veterans, people with disabilities, and individuals of all gender identities and sexual orientation, as well as one related to environmental sustainability in sourcing of retail products and within the overall operation of the marijuana retail establishment.

Selected respondents to the RFI may be invited to negotiate a Host Community Agreement with the select board and to then move forward with the local permitting and licensing processes. A special permit from the planning board is required.

“We’re on a good path forward,” Chair Greg Grey said.

Nesoff said he is “dismayed and disappointed” that the process has taken so long,

“I understand this is a long process, but we can only deal with what we have in front of us right now,” Grey said.

Being expeditious isn’t always the best way, because “mistakes can be made,” Constable said. “I want to avoid that on my watch.”

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