Search ▸ Communication to the City Council
CRT 2016 #47 · Communication to the City Council · Sep 12 2016
a report from Councillor Dennis J. Carlone and Councillor Leland Cheung, Co-Chairs of the Ordinance Committee, for a public hearing held on August 31, 2016 on a zoning petition by Healthy Pharms, Inc., to amend Section 20.700 Medical Marijuana Overlay Districts by creating an additional Medical Marijuana Overlay District (MMD-4). The new MMD-4 District would be coterminous with the Business B and Office 3 Districts that are within the Harvard Square Overlay District. The petition would also establish as criteria specific to the MMD-4 District that permissible dispensaries must be retail only (with no cultivation), must be set back from the sidewalk by a minimum of 15 feet and be appropriately shielded from public view, must be less than 10,000 square feet in size, are preferably located in areas with access to pedestrian and public transportation, and may be 250 feet, instead of the standard 500 feet, distant from a school, daycare center, preschool or afterschool facility or any facility in which children commonly congregate, or closer only if it is determined by the Planning Board to be sufficiently buffered such that users will not be adversely impacted by the operation of the dispensary
Presentation for the Cambridge Ordinance
Committee , August 31, 2016
Healthy Pharms Inc. will provide high-quality,
laboratory-tested medical marijuana products and
educational materials to Massachusetts residents
approved by their physician and registered with the
Department of Public Health.
Our facility will be clean, modern, operated in a
professional manner, and compassionate to those we
serve.
We will engage the community and be responsive to
their needs, ensure financial sustainability, and
maintain legal and regulatory compliance at all
times.
HPI’s Mission
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Nathaniel Averill – Executive Director
• 20+ years bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing
startup and management experience.
• Set up systems that were tested via many FDA and
EMEA audits.
• Good manufacturing practices (GMP) and
compliance experience critical for Registered
Marijuana Dispensary (RMD) operation.
• Passion for operating this business in the right
way.
HPI Board Members
2
Paul Overgaag – CFO
• Paul has over 25 years of entrepreneurial and
management experience in Harvard Square.
• Manages two restaurants and an organic vegetable
farm.
• His hospitality experience will be valuable when
setting up a patient-focused dispensary.
• Has operated liquor license establishments for over
30 years without incident.
HPI Board Members
3
Steven Freundlich – Director
• A retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer.
• More than 30 years of international and domestic
public service with Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs).
• Mr. Freundlich will draw on his experience as a
senior manager with the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) to develop
positive community participation and effective
operations.
HPI Board Members
4
Joy Kolin – Director
• 15 years of professional experience in running
and managing non-profit health care
international development projects.
• Focus on public health activities such as care and
treatment of HIV/AIDS, family planning and
reproductive health, tuberculosis, malaria and
cervical cancer prevention.
HPI Board Members
5
Amy Herman-Roloff PhD – Director
• 15 years of professional employment in
governmental public health agencies (local and
state) and non- profit organizations.
• Currently works for the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC).
• As an epidemiologist, she uses statistics to
analyze the effectiveness of health care projects,
which she will also do to understand HPI’s
effectiveness in treating patients.
HPI Board Members
6
•
Healthy Pharms is 1 of 12
groups who obtained
registration during the
2013-2014 application
process to operate RMDs in
the Commonwealth.
•
HPI has a special permit in
Georgetown for a 65,000
sq.ft. cultivation,
processing and dispensing
facility, and is in
construction.
•
HPI plans to create
medicine in Georgetown to
dispense in Cambridge.
RMD Registration Status
401 East Main St. Georgetown, MA
7
• HPI submitted another application to the DPH in
2015 to operate a 2nd RMD dispensing facility.
• HPI has been invited by the DPH to submit a Siting
Profile, which is the last application step before
receiving a provisional registration.
• This is HPI’s second time through the RMD
application process.
• HPI has already been thoroughly vetted by the DPH,
including background checks on all team members.
• HPI will seek a letter of support/non-opposition from
Cambridge to complete its application.
RMD Registration Status
8
• A Harvard Square facility would be for dispensing
only.
• Patients and caregivers must show two forms of ID
prior to entry and be verified through the
Massachusetts Medical Use of Marijuana Program
database.
• On-site consumption is prohibited.
• Patients and caregivers will not be allowed to linger
on-site after completing their purchase.
• Healthy Pharms will have security agent(s) on-site
during business hours.
Dispensing Only
10
• In Cambridge 79%+ voted for medical marijuana in
2012.
• Population density of surrounding municipalities
would allow Healthy Pharms to help many patients.
• Harvard Square is centrally located, and accessible
by walking, biking, subway, bus and automobiles.
• HPI founder is a long-time Harvard Square
businessman with the support of the Harvard
Square Business Association for siting an RMD in
Harvard Square.
Why Harvard Square?
11
• Jobs. 10-15 full-time jobs with benefits, in addition to
employing local contractors and other services.
• Financial. Community Host Agreement that would
provide the City with additional benefits.
• Taxes. Healthy Pharms commits to paying property
taxes, despite non-profit status, and potential for
charitable status in the future.
• Access. Access to safe, tested, consistent and reliable
medicine for patients of the Commonwealth.
• Responsibility. Healthy Pharms is comprised of
responsible actors that have undergone 2 rounds of
background checks and DPH scrutiny.
Benefits to Cambridge
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• HPI will maintain the urban character of Winthrop
Street.
• The Red House will keep the patio out front and the bar
area and front dinning room.
• Only the side entrance will be used for the RMD and is
set 19’ back from the street, with less than 10’ of street
level frontage. Planning Board has recommended that
these factors not be included in the zoning bylaw
amendment. Planning Board Recommendation, August
19, 2016 (“PB Rec.”), pg. 2.
• The back dining room will become the dispensary.
• Per state regulations no neon signs or depictions of
marijuana or paraphernalia and no public view into the
RMD space.
What would it look like?
12
16
The Patio Will Remain
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Approaching from Eliot St. Side
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The RMD Entrance
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Floor Plan
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HPI will be located about 300’ away
from a church with Sunday school
The University Lutheran Church
does not oppose HPI at the location
“We met with
Healthy Pharms and
have a clear
understanding of
their proposed
operation. On
August 9, 2016 the
University Lutheran
church council voted
to go on record that
we do not oppose the
proposed siting of the
Healthy Pharms
dispensary.”
The DPH allows municipalities to reduce the 500’
buffer from places where children gather on a
regularly scheduled basis.
Due to the density in Harvard Square and the
Sunday School at UniLu, HPI’s zoning petition
calls for the 500’ setback to be reduced to 250’.
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500’ Regulation
Such a reduction has precedent, some examples
include:
Brookline requires that RMDs not be located in the
same building as a daycare, and kept the 500’
setback from elementary or secondary schools only.
Holyoke eliminated their setback requirement all
together.
Kingston reduced their setback to 100’.
Rowley reduced their setback to 200’.
Amherst, Belmont, Dedham and Fitchburg reduced
their setback to 300’.
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500’ Setback Reduction
“Allowed Uses: RMDs would only be allowed in
districts that otherwise allow commercial uses.”
CDD Memo – August 9, 2016 (“CDD Memo), pg. 3.
HPI’s proposed zoning amendment only
contemplates siting in districts that allow
commercial uses.
“Public Safety: Areas that are isolated and
difficult to reach for emergency vehicles would be
excluded.” CDD Memo, pg. 3.
Harvard Square is centrally located and accessible
to emergency vehicles.
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MMD Zoning Factors
“Buffers from Sensitive Uses: The . . . map indicates
where there are commercial‐use districts . . . that contain
the most available area outside of the 500‐foot buffers.”
CDD Memo, pg. 4; Buffers Map, attached to CDD Memo.
Although the proposed HPI location seems to fall outside of
the setback on the map, HPI has learned that the University
Lutheran Church has a Sunday school which eliminates more
commercial space within Harvard Square than depicted.
HPI has requested a reduction of the buffer to 250’ and the
Planning Board believes that such a reduction is appropriate.
See PB Rec., pg. 1.
HPI met with the University Lutheran Church Council, and
obtained a letter of non-opposition to HPI siting at Winthrop
St. location.
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Cont. MMD Zoning Factors
“Transportation: it may not be as important to
restrict RMDs to major regional roadways.
Nevertheless, given that patients from surrounding
communities will still be able to access any RMD, areas
that are centrally located with good transit service and
pedestrian and bicycle access are still preferable.” CDD
Memo, pg. 3.
“[T]he [Planning] Board does not find it necessary to
express a preference for areas with access to pedestrian
and public transportation, given that any potential site
in Harvard Square would conform to that Standard.” PB
Rec., pg. 2.
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Cont. MMD Zoning Factors
“Urban Character: Statewide security regulations
require RMDs to be shielded from public view. . . .
The potential disruption that these security measures
may have on active, pedestrian‐oriented retail
corridors remains a concern.” CDD Memo, pg. 4.
“However, this concern could be mitigated in other
ways. . . . The Healthy Pharms proposal . . . suggests
setting RMDs back from the street, with only limited
frontage allowed for entry and exit of the RMD.” CDD
Memo, pg. 4.
Planning Board recommends addressing this at the
Special Permit process and not in zoning. PB Rec., 1-2.
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Cont. MMD Zoning Factors
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Zoning Map
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HSBA Supports HPI
“a super-majority of the
officers and directors of the
HSBA board believe that
Paul and his team at
Healthy Pharms are well-
qualified to operate a
dispensary in Harvard
Square.”
“We support the efforts of
the team at Healthy
Pharms, Inc. to locate a
Registered Marijuana
Dispensary in Harvard
Square.”
We believe that the HPI Zoning Petition
satisfies the factors considered by the City of
Cambridge (as outlined in the CDD Memo)
when zoning for the RMD use.
The Planning Board has recommended
adoption of the zoning amendment, with
modifications, to which HPI obviously has no
objection.
Thank you very much for your attention.
We are available for any questions.
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Conclusion