Bath Planning Director Ben Averill on Wednesday walks the City Council through various proposed marijuana regulation rules. Alex Lear / The Forecaster

BATH — The City Council on Wednesday granted first passage to two ordinances that govern establishments for both adult-use and medical marijuana.

Second and final approval of the regulations, recommended last month by the Planning Board, is expected Wednesday, Sept. 4. The city has spent about a year developing proposed rules.

The action comes nearly three years after the narrow passage of a statewide referendum in November 2016 to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana as an agricultural product. Municipalities must decide whether to authorize retail sales.

State and local licensing will be required for marijuana establishments. Medical marijuana storefronts and dispensaries, and adult-use establishments, must be at least 500 feet from public and private schools, licensed child-care facilities, and juvenile or adult halfway houses, correctional facilities and substance-abuse treatment or rehabilitation centers.

Adult-use establishments must be at least 300 feet from another facility of that kind. Medical and adult-use establishments alike must have security such as non-stop surveillance cameras, exterior lighting, a secure safe, and burglary alarm systems. Odors cannot be detected outside the buildings.

Medical marijuana and adult-use storefronts and dispensaries would be allowed with site plan approval in the Commercial 1 and 4 zones, while marijuana manufacturing and testing facilities would be permitted in the Commercial 3 and 4 districts. Marijuana cultivation operations would be allowed in the Residential 3 district.

The council voted on separate land use code articles. Article 18, regarding definitions and performance standards of marijuana establishments, received unanimous first passage.

Article 9, amended to include marijuana uses, drew more discussion among councilors, particularly concerning whether the downtown Commercial 1 zone should allow such uses. The City Council voted 5-2, with Julie Ambrosino and Aaron Park opposed, on first passage of that updated set of rules.

During the licensing process of marijuana operations, councilors could set a limit on how many establishments are allowed in a zone. License fees could be set at that point, too.


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