No Pot For You... Fairfield Indefinitely Bans Cannabis Sales

FAIRFIELD, CT ? After prohibiting cannabis sales in Fairfield for the past two years, the Town Plan & Zoning Commission Tuesday indefinitely banned pot sales in town, though two commissioners lamented that Fairfield is missing out on business revenue with the ban.

The town had prohibited cannabis sales for the past two years, but with Tuesday's 5-2 vote, instead of annual moratoriums on such sales, the town will not have to revisit the issue each year.

"Having cannabis sales in Fairfield presents an unnecessary risk and threat, particularly to the youth in our community," said commissioner Stephen Levy, who made the motion to amend the zoning regulation language to make the ban indefinite.

Joining Levy in supporting the prohibition were commissioners Alexis Harrison, Daniel Ford, Jeff Randolph and Chair Thomas Noonan, while commissioners Tom Corsillo and Kathy Braun opposed the indefinite ban.

Commissioners noted that there is a cannabis dispensary at 2000 Commerce Drive in Bridgeport, not far from the Fairfield border, that can serve the needs of Fairfield residents who may want to purchase marijuana.

At a public hearing last month, several residents spoke in favor of the ban.

Corsillo and Braun, while acknowledging the prevailing sentiment of the commission and residents who support the ban, they argued the loss of such businesses in town presents a lost opportunity.

"I happen to believe that alcohol is far more dangerous than cannabis, even though I'm someone who's a big fan of Connecticut's breweries, and generally abstains from using cannabis," Corsillo said. "But I think that an outright prohibition is an economic gift to neighboring towns, and goes against the entrepreneurial spirit that we should be fostering in Fairfield."

Braun said that based on information she received from the state, gross sales of cannabis in 2023 were well over $200 million, and local communities can charge a 3 percent excise tax on sales.

"It could be a huge revenue generator, job generator, business generator, if there is a way to do it safely, where you don't have vaping lounges everywhere," Braun said.

Fairfield Planning Director Jim Wendt said that even with the indefinite prohibition, businesses can still apply to open a cannabis dispensary in town.

"It does not preclude someone from making an application for a discrete location in the future, and if that is something the commission is inclined to support, someone can submit that application," Wendt said.