Medical Marijuana Firm To Appear Before Pawtucket Zoning Board

PAWTUCKET, RI — New Leaf Compassion Center will appear before the Pawtucket Zoning Board on June 28 seeking a dimensional variance and special use permit to open a medical marijuana cultivation and distribution facility at an industrial property at 30 India Street.

The hearing was initially set for June 1 but was rescheduled.

The Pawtucket Planning Commission on March 16 voted 3-0 to oppose the application for a 2,700 square-foot compassion center branded as "Fine Fettle Dispensary." The area is zoned as "Industrial Open." However, the proposed dispensary is within 200 feet of a residential zoning district and within 1,000 feet of a public recreation field.

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New Leaf must also gain a compassion center license from state cannabis regulators. The Department of Business Regulation plans a lottery to award six new licenses in six zones across Rhode Island. That lottery won't be held until at least August. Three compassion centers are already licensed in Providence, Portsmouth, and Warwick.

New Leaf has secured lease options within four of the zones, with options on properties at 24
Stafford Court in Cranston; 4115 Mendon Road in Cumberland; and 16-24 Central Street in Central Falls, in addition to the India Street property. New Leaf Compassion Center, Inc. "will only lease one of the above listed properties if selected for a Compassion Center license," CEO Thomas Mirza promised in the company's application with the state.

The city of Pawtucket requires a special use permit for a medical marijuana dispensary at the proposed location. The applicant must also pass development plan review.