SPRINGFIELD -- The City Council voted Monday to set a cap of no more than 15 shops that will be allowed to sell recreational marijuana in Springfield but continued to debate regulations including the specifics of where the shops can be located.



During a four-hour meeting on Monday, the council decided that marijuana shops must be located on a specific list of allowed streets, and only in a Business A, B, and C zone, or on specific streets in an Industrial A or Industrial Park zone.



Approximately 55 streets were selected by the council as being appropriate for shops within business and industrial zones across the city, but the list triggered considerable council debate and was not finalized.



That and other issues regarding shop locations and regulations will be discussed again at a special council meeting on Tuesday, beginning at 6 p.m., at City Hall.



"We made a lot of progress," council President Orlando Ramos said Tuesday. "We've gone through this ordinance front and back and we considered what is in best interest of the residents of the city of Springfield."

Ramos encouraged residents to attend the council meeting.

The issues were also debated at a special council meeting last week.

Ramos said he expects the draft ordinance will be finalized at Tuesday's meeting.

The legalization of recreational marijuana was approved by voters in 2016, including approval by Springfield voters. There are state provisions for retail sales and cultivation, and other marijuana businesses, but city regulations are also allowed.

As a result of the Springfield vote, the city must allow at least 13 retail shops -- 20 percent of the city's package license licenses -- or ask for another ballot vote to go below that number, councilors said.

Councilor Justin Hurst suggested the 15-shop cap, approved by the council majority without need for a roll call.

The regulations on recreational marijuana, once finalized, will be forwarded for a vote by the city Planning Board and then must return to the council for final approval, officials said.

There is currently a six-month moratorium on marijuana shop applications in Springfield that ends Sept. 30, but could be extended by council vote.

In a major vote, councilors rejected a proposal by Councilor Michael Fenton to have a least a 100-foot buffer between any marijuana shop property, and a residential property within a business or industrial zone.

Councilor Kenneth Shea, as a compromise, asked for at least a 50-foot buffer between the shops and residences, which also failed.



Councilors voting against the buffers were Marcus Williams, Adam Gomez, Kateri Walsh, Jesse Lederman, Melvin Edwards, Justin Hurst, and Ramos. Several of the councilors said they did not want the regulations to be too restrictive, leaving too few areas for the shops to locate.



Williams, citing the Springfield vote in favor of legalizing marijuana sales, said that permitting such businesses should be similar to allowing package stores near residences, providing they are in the proper business or industrial zone.

"I think over-regulating can be crippling," Williams said. "We should look at these like liquor stores."

Councilors were voted in favor of at least a 50-foot buffer were Fenton, Shea, Timothy J. Ryan, and Timothy J. Allen, with all but Shea favoring the 100-foot buffer. Councilors Thomas Ashe and E. Henry Twiggs were absent from the meeting.

Fenton questioned how the council could not even approve a one-foot buffer from a marijuana shop and where "someone sleeps." He said there can be issues such as foot traffic, vehicle ingress and egress, and lighting and other uses such as cell towers and billboards have significant buffers from residential property..

Lederman said the applications can then be considered on a case-by-case basis by the council. Any application for a marijuana shop will need to obtain a special permit from the council, and have a public hearing.

Allen attempted to remove Island Pond Road from the list of streets where marijuana shops could locate, but the motion failed.

The council did approve a 250-foot buffer between marijuana "cultivation centers" and residences.

Councilors did agree on other regulations, such as banning the sale of marijuana between the hours of 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.

A marijuana shop will also need a host community agreement negotiated with the mayor and approved by the council, officials said.