Neighbors oppose pot dispensaries One Main St. plan defeated, 2nd filed

3715 Main Street in Bridgeport, Conn., where a new LLC, D&B Wellness, hopes to open a medical marijuana dispensary. 3715 Main Street in Bridgeport, Conn., where a new LLC, D&B Wellness, hopes to open a medical marijuana dispensary. Photo: Brian A. Pounds Photo: Brian A. Pounds Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Neighbors oppose pot dispensaries 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

BRIDGEPORT -- For a frustrated Councilwoman Michelle Lyons, proposals for pot dispensaries seem to be popping up like weeds in her North End district.

Hours after helping to defeat a plan for a medical marijuana dispensary at 4750 Main St., Lyons learned from a reporter that a similar application for 3715 Main St. site had been filed with the zoning department.

"That's around the corner from my house," said Lyons, D-134. "This is unbelievable ... I feel like crying."

More than two dozen dispensaries are competing for three to five Connecticut licenses. And those with the blessing of local zoning commissions have an advantage.

Robert Schulten struck out before Bridgeport's Planning & Zoning Commission on Monday.

In a 5-4 vote, commissioners rejected Schulten's plans to open a dispensary in an office building at 4750 Main St., near the Trumbull border.

Opponents argued it was too close to a residential area and could affect home values.

Trumbull residents Karen Barski and Angela D'Amico are hoping for better luck. The pair recently submitted an application to open a marijuana dispensary a mile south of Schulten's at the Merritt Medical Center, 3715 Main St.

"I'm definitely optimistic," D'Amico said. Reached by phone in California, where she continues to research the medical marijuana industry, D'Amico said she and Barski will be well prepared for their public hearing before the coning commission in January.

Marijuana is an important part of their business plan for a holistic, "compassionate care" clinic that will also offer patients with debilitating illnesses alternative treatments like yoga, acupuncture and massage.

"I travel extensively in my business (of art publishing) and see how much it's helped in California and how many states are jumping on the bandwagon," D'Amico said. "This is us saving the world -- that's how I feel. There's no way anyone can say `no' to us."

Bridgeport under Democratic Mayor Bill Finch has been more welcoming to the fledgling medical marijuana industry. Unlike other Connecticut municipalities, the city has not passed moratoriums or established other barriers to keep out proposals out. In fact, the zoning commission in October approved a marijuana farm for Burr Court, near the Black Rock neighborhood.

"We have a commitment to meet the needs of our population," David Kooris, Finch's head of economic development, said in a recent interview. He said the Finch administration has steered applicants to appropriate areas -- farms in industrial neighborhoods and dispensaries in commercial corridors near hospitals and doctors' offices.

"It would be nice if they (economic development officials) informed us about things going on within our districts," Lyons said, adding: "I'm not against marijuana being used for medicinal purposes ... It's the locations I have a problem with."

The dispensaries are also being fought by Sacred Heart University, which is located in Fairfield, but has several properties in the North End.

Michael Kinney, SHU's senior vice president for finance and administration, wrote Bridgeport zoning officials to oppose Schulten's application.

"We believe it is unwise to allow this type of business so close to a campus where more than 4,000 undergraduate students attend school and live," Kinney wrote. "Our stance on this issue in no way reflects a lack of confidence in our students. On the contrary, we believe that housing a marijuana dispensary so close to campus and to their homes creates a risk of attracting individuals ... who may try to steal or buy drugs from dispensary patrons."

And SHU spokesman said Kinney will also oppose a dispensary at the Merritt Medical Center.

Melville Riley Jr., a Republican who chairs the zoning commission, cast one of the four votes in favor of Schulten's dispensary.

"It's legal. It was in a medical facility. It's a commercial area, not a neighborhood. It's an opportunity for Bridgeport to get another taxpayer in," Riley said.

He said he suspected some of his colleagues on the commission, having backed the Burr Court farm, are hesitant to approve other applications and become "the marijuana capitol of the world."

Riley said Barski and D'Amico might have a better chance at getting their dispensary approved because the location is more discreet.

Lyons, meanwhile, plans to spend the next few weeks rounding up opposition in the neighborhood.

"I'll be doing some walking," she said. "I don't care if it's cold."

brian.lockhart@scni.com; 203-414-0712; http://twitter.com/blockhart1