BREWSTER -- By law the cultivation of medical marijuana isn�t a bucolic occupation with fat bees buzzing between the flowers as they sway gently under the sun.

Production is in a �designated, locked, limited access area� with 24 hour visual security, lighting and the removal of concealing shrubbery.

Abuttors to the Haven Center�s proposed 28-acre medical marijuana cultivation facility on Long Pond Road (Route 137) in Brewster raised concerns about this at Monday�s meeting of the selectmen.

They noted the project would be in a historic district and neighborhood setting on the Kennedy estate.

�Why 28 acres?� asked Chuck Hanson. �What have other towns done? We�re here for the Consodine Citizen�s Group.�

Consodine Road borders the property and there are 23 homes along it.

�It isn�t standard agriculture,� Hanson said. �We aren�t growing tomatoes here. It is almost a light industrial development in a historic district. There are a significant number of trees. Everything else is woods. There are deer, foxes, turkeys, hawks and no fences on any property. So to clear trees in a historic district seems inappropriate.�

Hanson noted the plans weren�t just for cultivation but included the production of marijuana infused products; beverages, creams, oils, edibles.

�It seems more like light manufacturing than agriculture,� he observed adding the Falmouth and Plymouth were considering locations in malls and industrial zones.

�I have nothing against the cultivation of medical marijuana but not in a neighborhood that�s residential,� Hanson said. �I�d like you to reconsider any opposition to this.�

Last July 16, then town administrator submitted a letter of "non opposition�"as part of the Haven Center�s request for a certificate to register to operate a registered marijuana dispensary. The center was then invited to submit a siting proposal, which they did by Dec. 31, and that included details about the proposed cultivation facility as well as a dispensary to be located on the Orleans town line on Route 6A at the location of the former For the Love of The Breed store.

Hanson noted that since the planned locations were not known last summer when the letter of non-opposition was written the town should reconsider.

Another resident was concerned about access off Ida�s Way.

�All of a sudden this would be the entrance way to an industrial park,� he said. �I think the selectmen should strongly consider a moratorium or freeze on this.�

Ben DeRuyter, chair of the selectmen, noted the application process was going through the state, not the town, at this point.

�The use needs to be in keeping with local zoning bylaws,� DeRuyter said.

Agriculture is a permitted use. The dispensary on Route 6A would require a special permit from the planning board. If the state approves the siting profile and the Haven Center earns a certificate of registration for a registered marijuana dispensary they�d have to go through all the local town boards any business would to gain approval.

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