Glenville puts pause on introduction of Cannabis law
GLENVILLE - Plans to introduce legislation allowing retail marijuana sales in town are on hold for the foreseeable future as lawmakers continue to assess the impacts of the state’s budding marijuana industry.
Supervisor Chris Koetzle said Friday town lawmakers are examining where, if at all, dispensaries would fit within town in order to avoid negative long-term impacts associated with the facilities. He noted that Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy and City Council President Marion Porterfield have both recently raised concerns about the location of a dispensary that opened on Upper Union Street in April.
“We do not want to make that mistake,” Koetzle said. “This is why we’re really slowing this down. We’re really looking at it.”
Town lawmakers for months have been discussing legislation to allow marijuana sales in certain parts of town after agreeing to opt-out of letting dispensaries and on-site consumption facilities to open in 2021 over concerns about a lack of state regulations at the time.
State lawmakers approved the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act in 2021, which legalized marijuana for adult-use and established the framework for tax structure for marijuana sales. The law also allowed municipalities to opt out of allowing cannabis businesses from opening within their borders, but would exclude them from any state tax revenue generated from sales.
Municipalities that opted-out are allowed to opt back in at a later date. Rotterdam, Schenectady and Scotia were the only municipalities to allow cannabis sales to move forward.
In March, the town revealed a draft local law regulating cannabis dispensaries and on-site consumption facilities to operate along Route 50 between Rudy Chase and Skyway drives, and between Rector and Vley roads on Route 5. The proposal also included setbacks requiring the business to be located away from residences, parks, playgrounds, daycare and senior centers and certain restaurants.
The legislation was drafted after Donald Andrews, the owner of Upstate CBD, came forward with plans to operate a dispensary out of his 126 Saratoga Road storefront. Andrews was one of the first to receive a dispensary license under the state’s Conditional-Use Retail Dispensaries program and currently operates the Upstate Canna Co. dispensary in Schenectady.
But Koetzle said Friday that the location Andrews has proposed would not work due to its proximity to a residential property, and that he is not pushing lawmakers to hold off on the legislation until a slate of new Town Board members are seated next January.
Koetzle said that he has concerns about allowing marijauna sales, but is trying to keep an “open mind.” He noted that there hasn’t been any firm consensus from board members on the issue at this point.
November’s general election will result in a revamped Town Board for the first time in years.
