Westbrook has joined a small but growing number of communities looking to regulate recreational marijuana facilities should Question 1 pass on Nov. 8.

The Westbrook City Council voted unanimously Monday on a first reading to implement a six-month moratorium on such facilities, giving the council time to impose regulations on retail establishments, social clubs and other facilities that would be legalized by the referendum.

One of those regulations could be an outright ban, which Council President Brendan Rielly has said he would push for if the referendum passes.

If approved, Question 1 will legalize, tax and regulate marijuana as an agricultural product, and also allow for retail stores, social clubs, cultivation and other businesses. Under the referendum language, individual municipalities can restrict marijuana businesses with zoning ordinances, or ban can them completely. However, marijuana use, possession and transfer would still be legal.

No one from the public spoke on the measure Monday.

The council first discussed the moratorium during an Oct. 17 Committee of the Whole meeting, where Rielly said he would push for a ban. He said Westbrook should show the state “what our values are,” and that he believes the costs of implementing regulations on marijuana businesses would outweigh any potential benefits.

Officials in Gray and Brewer have also already passed similar moratoriums.

Councilor John O’Hara questioned a city ban, stating that if neighboring communities allow marijuana businesses, it could leave Westbrook without the economic impact while still allowing residents to bring marijuana products back into the city. He compared the possible scenario to “dry and wet counties” in the south, referring to counties where alcohol sales are illegal.

Ward 3 Councilor Anna Turcotte also said she would support a ban. Turcotte said she’s seen the negative effects of legalization when she lived in the Netherlands. Councilor Mike Sanphy, a mayoral candidate, also said he’d support it, stating his concern for the public safety aspect of impaired drivers.

Westbrook Police Chief Janine Roberts has repeatedly shared concern for the referendum. On Oct. 17, she said Westbrook has only one officer certified in the testing needed for impaired drivers, which she said is a problem statewide.

“Officers are overwhelmed in Colorado,” she said, where marijuana was legalized in 2012. The second and final vote on the moratorium will be Monday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m., the night before Election Day.