The city of Boston is proposing a change that would take the Zoning Board of Appeal (ZBA) out of the cannabis permitting process and leave decisions solely up to the Boston Cannabis Board (BCB).

At a meeting on Aug. 29, officials said such a change would create a situation where cannabis would be ‘allowed’ in all districts except residential, as opposed to having it ‘conditional’ and requiring ZBA action. The plan received great support at the meeting from city officials and cannabis industry leaders, but skepticism reigned citywide at the neighborhood level.

The proposal comes amid lawsuits over ZBA denials. In the six years since cannabis was legalized, only 12 shops have become operational in Boston against a minimum of 52 required under state law.

Segun Idowu, the city’s chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, said the current process is outdated and a barrier to commerce.
“This cannot be the normal cost of business in the city of Boston,” he said, noting the length of time and expense for getting through the approval process. “To put a finer point on this, out of seven applicants approved by the BCB and denied by the ZBA, four were equity applicants. They find themselves getting all the way to the finish line, only to get denied by the ZBA.”

The Boston Planning and Development Agency’s (BPDA) Bryan Glascock said the proposed amendment is at its first steps and will have to progress to the BPDA Board and then face a vote at the ZBA. The change would treat cannabis as a retail use, making it “allowed” in commercial and business sub-districts, but “forbidden” in residential sub-districts.

A second piece would put all siting decisions in the hands of the BCB. Applicants must now go through the city’s BCB, the state’s Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), and then get final approval from the zoning board.

“It’s a very extensive permitting and licensing process that takes years and is very cumbersome and challenging for people to get through,” Glascock said. “Any time you have a complex process, it tends to impact the people with the fewest resources, in this case the equity applicants…The time is right for taking the Zoning Board piece out of it and letting the BCB do what it does best and that’s licensing cannabis entities.”

Jasmin Winn, a BCB administrator, said the board didn’t exist when cannabis first arrived, but it is ready to fully take over the process. She noted they have made recent changes to include using a public score sheet for each applicant and to add two new seats to the board.

“We are not just looking at the applicants for a brief moment in time,” she said. “We spend a good deal of time hearing their goals and their plans. We have matured as a board and have the ability to fulfill the purpose of the ordinance.”

Three industry representatives also spoke at the meeting about the process, one of them Pure Oasis group from Grove Hall that found frustration when trying to expand in Brighton.

Co-owner Kobie Evans said they had a great experience licensing their shop in Grove Hall and thought it would be the same in Brighton. However, neighborhood opposition and bureaucratic delays foiled the expansion.

“At this point, we in the industry are knee deep in a situation where we need guidance over which entity has domain over siting cannabis businesses in Boston,” he said.

Jody Mendoza, of the Green Team, a group that once proposed a facility in Mattapan Square that was met with great opposition, said the convoluted and long process for locating in Mission Hill has left her in debt, and without a shop.

“Unfortunately the process takes an extremely long time and that far exceeds the $15,000 [city grants] that are used to pay rent to hold a site,” she said. “Now 4.5 years into this, I am not operational and don’t expect to be operational. I have nothing at this point but a lot of debt and broken promises.”

Mendoza’s Mission Hill proposal was denied by the ZBA despite having community support, a Host Community Agreement, and a provisional BCB license, she said.

At the same time, neighbors at the meeting were not sure that the BCB was ready to take on such a challenge. Brian Graves of South Boston said he and his neighbors weren’t confident about the change.

“I’m not sure I have complete confidence in the BCB process end to end,” he said. “I know they have matured, but to allow applicants in every zoning district other than residential? I don’t know if the experience of the BCB would be commensurate with that task.”

Others, such as Eliot Laffer of the Back Bay, said cannabis permits involve a two-step process like any restaurant: with the Licensing Board and the ZBA. He said cannabis runs into issues because they are “mostly unbanked” due to the federal policy that deems cannabis illegal.

City Councillors Kenzie Bok and Michael Flaherty weren’t opposed to the changes proposed by the city, but said they had some concerns about areas where retail and residential are mixed. In some cases, Bok said, the new regulations would make it easier to site a cannabis shop than a coffee shop. She and Flaherty presented amendments for consideration.

“A café is conditional in most places in my district and it goes through a process before getting ZBA approval, but cannabis establishments wouldn’t have that process,” she noted.

Public comments on the proposed amendments will be accepted until Fri., Sept. 9. Public comments should be submitted via email to BPDArpz@Boston.gov.