Hatfield Planning Board adopts consultant fee rules, eyes marijuana cultivation buffer

HATFIELD -- January 15, 2020, Hatfield Planning Board unanimously adopts outside-consultant fee rules and opens bylaw revision process for marijuana cultivation setbacks and solar siting. Chair David L. Bell said an $850 consulting bill that went unpaid during review of a prior application exposed the board's lack of enforceable rules; the newly adopted regulations require applicants to deposit estimated review costs into a town escrow account before work begins, with unused funds returned at project close. The board also agreed to draft language moving medium and large ground-mounted solar systems out of the accessory-use category in the zoning table, a placement the town's counsel called a likely scrivener's error that could expose the town to legal challenge under Chapter 40A. On marijuana cultivation, Bell proposed a 300-foot setback from the security-zone perimeter of any grow operation to any off-site residential unit, mirroring the distance already required for retail marijuana outlets; Alternate Chair James C. Tarr argued the town "needs to have something in writing and straightforward" after the controversy surrounding the Urban Grown Inc. Depot Road application. Draft language on both bylaws is expected at the February meeting, with public hearings targeted for March and any final adoption pushed to a fall special Town Meeting or the May 2021 annual meeting.