BREWSTER-The Brewster Planning Board has yet to make a final decision on when The Haven Center, a recreational marijuana dispensary, will open its doors to the public. While there is still no clear opening date, progress is being made.
The dispensary will be accepting visitors on an appointment-only basis initially, after an agreement was reached between the company and the board recently.
The proposal dictates that four appointments per hour would be accepted, and changes to that condition could be made after 45 days and a review of data from the board.
“At that point, it will come off of appointment-only, unless the board finds that there’s a reason–a traffic and safety reason based on the historical performance–that it needs to be extended for some period of time,” said Ben Zehnder, an attorney representing The Haven Center.
The shop could potentially open in the summer after Memorial Day.
Zehnder did make it clear that the company does not intend for the appointment-only period to be in place for a prolonged period of time, as it is hard to plan far into the future.
“The longer this is appointment-only,” Zehnder explained, “the lower the value of this business has; not because they sell less product, but because it disincents (sic) investors from participating in this project because it’s limited in that way, and they don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Traffic around the shop remains a concern for some, and all parties involved are working to ensure traffic flow is not heavily disrupted. Zehnder advised a traffic study has been re-submitted to the board, along with information regarding other aspects of the overall plan.
Approval from the state, as well as from the town on a building permit, is still required.
The Haven Center is on pace to become the lone recreational marijuana dispensary in the town.
About Brendan Fitzpatrick
