WESTPORT — Coastal Healing and the Select Board last week signed off on a host agreement that will allow Coastal Healing to open as the first legal marijuana establishment in town.
The facility at 248 State Road is expected to open in late September or early October, according to Coastal Healing owner Diego Bernard.
According to the host agreement document, Coastal Healing will operate an approximate 14,500 square foot medical marijuana treatment center, marijuana retail establishment, as well as a marijuana manufacturing product and cultivation establishment. The facility will be adjacent to Holiday Lanes on State Road and will operate on a 106,626 square foot parcel.
Coastal Healing retail sales will be appointment only
Attorney Brian Corey has said that the establishment will be an “appointment only” business, which should curtail traffic.
More:AG ruling strikes down Westport marijuana bylaw amendments
The business will pay the town 3 percent of annual gross sales from all transactions to help offset infrastructure expenses that will be incurred by the town. This community impact payment will last for five years and a new one will be negotiated at the end of the five-year term, according to the host agreement document.
Financial benefits to town of Westport
Coastal Healing will also pay the town and additional $25,000 per year for as long as the facility is open. This money will be allocated toward substance abuse and mental health services, according to the document. The business will also provide staff to participate in educational services.
The pending opening comes after a long, three-year process, which started in December 2018 when Corey first visited the Select Board for a letter of non-opposition.
Since then, Coastal Healing has met several times with town entities in search of site plan approval and special permitting.
Recreational marijuana sales will enhance company
Coastal Healing in February of 2020 led a petition that helped overturn a prohibition on the sale of recreational marijuana. Corey and other advocates said the recreational sales would greatly enhance the company’s ability to generate revenue.
The special Town Meeting was successful but opponents claimed that most voters attended the meeting for another matter. Opponents then organized another petitions article eight months later, which helped enact another prohibition.
Earlier this spring, state Attorney General Maura Healey ruled against the October 2020 votes, saying that these general bylaw amendments were more restrictive than the zoning bylaws previously in place.
Opponents and proponents of marijuana worked with the Planning Board, which put forward a zoning prohibition article, as well as an article seeking to keep recreational marijuana legal, so as long as its only zoned in Science and Technology District and the Adult Entertainment Overlay District, zones located in the north section of town along State Road.
Voters approved this option, paving the way for Coastal Healing to operate a medical and non-medical establishment.
