Odor complaints relating to marijuana cultivation facilities, particularly in the Pine Point area, were discussed by the Scarborough Ordinance Committee Jan. 10. Residents in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood have also complained about odor. With the expiration of a moratorium on new cultivator licenses for Pine Point expiring in February, and the town is looking to find a resolution to the issue.
“Odor from cultivation has been an issue for neighbors in both the Pine Point and lower Pleasant Hills areas, areas that abut industrial zoning,” Ordinance Chair Jean-Marie Caterina said. “The state developed a bifurcated system when cannabis was legalized leading to a confusing array of laws related to medical use versus recreational use of the plant. It is my plan to have the ordinance committee analyze all options with public input and come up with a solution that addresses the persistent odor issues.”
Requiring residents to prove odor incidents related to cultivation is burdensome, Councilor Don Hamill said.
“The residents have to actually prove that there are incidents of odor as it relates to cultivation, which is a very cumbersome process that has a lot of steps and takes so much time and effort,” Hamill said. “I just don’t think it’s a workable policy or a reasonable expectation if you ask the folk that live next to Pine Point industrial area, now they are in a place to prove manufacturing does not produce odor, in spite of that claim that has been made several times, people are still complaining about it. Not just in Pine Point but also now in Pleasant Hill. If you look at those things as indicators, they’re going in the wrong direction.”
The possibility of prolonging the moratorium to have more time to find a solution was brought up.
“I think it is very possible we see the moratorium extended,” Council Chair Nick McGee said. “The turnaround time on analyzing the options, formulating an ordinance change and/or zoning changes will take some time procedurally if that is ultimately the direction the council decides to go.”
Residents need to be the first priority, he said. “If the businesses cannot operate in compliance with our ordinances (odors are not supposed to extend beyond a property boundary), then it is our obligation to take action,” McGee said.
The council is willing to work with those businesses to ensure compliance, McGee said. “If those efforts don’t produce the results necessary, I feel we have an obligation to take it a step further and consider more substantive changes to our ordinances and zoning that will protect our residents. Understanding the full range of options available to us is a necessary first step.”
“If we are going to do right by the residents who abut these businesses then I think we are all just coming to the same conclusion which is the mitigation didn’t work, and the attempts to regulate didn’t solve the issue for the residents,” Councilor April Sither said.
Limiting the number of licenses and potentially phasing out cultivation licenses were discussed.
Currently, Scarborough has 45 licenses, with 18 in the Pine Point overlay district.
Councilor Jon Anderson said the council is going to use a letter from their attorney to help outline their options. “The issue I have is the location at the Pine Point Overlay, specifically for cultivation, where I would like to see us consider removing it as a qualified use, but I need to understand legal detail.”
In a memorandum dated Jan. 9, attorney Philip R. Saucier provided legal insights to the Scarborough Town Council Ordinance Committee regarding cannabis regulation in accordance with Maine law.
In the memo, Saucier said municipalities have the discretion in permitting and regulating cannabis establishments, categorizing them into medical and adult-use. The memo outlined the requirement for municipalities to opt-in through a vote and explored regulatory options, including prohibition and detailed licensing requirements.
The document highlighted Scarborough’s current regulations, addressing nonconformance provisions and introducing the concept of amortization. Saucier concluded by noting specific limitations, such as the inability to phase out medical cannabis establishments with municipal approval before Dec. 13, 2018. The memo serves as legal guidance for the council to navigate the complexities of cannabis regulation, considering both state laws and local constraints.
The public will have multiple opportunities for participation in the process of whether to make changes to current ordinances and regulations. The Ordinance Committee will discuss the matter in future meetings. Once the committee has a recommendation, the matter will come before the council.
The next committee meeting will be held at the Public Safety Building on Feb. 14 at 6 p.m.
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