Hatfield Planning Board continues cannabis cultivation hearing to September

HATFIELD -- May 5, 2019, Hatfield Planning Board votes to continue a cannabis cultivation hearing after two hours of neighborhood opposition. The board unanimously continued to September 4 the public hearing on a special permit sought by Urban Grown Inc. CEO Stephen Herbert for a proposed cannabis grow operation, starting at 10,000 square feet of canopy and potentially expanding to 50,000 square feet, at 55 Depot Road on a 6.8-acre parcel pending sale from the Wroblewski estate. Chief Operating Officer Michael Herbert projected roughly $40,000 annually in host-community-agreement revenue to Hatfield per 10,000 square feet of canopy, structured as 3 percent of gross sales. Residents packed the meeting room, with attorney Elizabeth the Oranger arguing the required Cannabis Control Commission community outreach meeting was improperly noticed, calling for suspension of the hearing, and raising application errors including a missing floodplain overlay designation. Chair Stephanie Slysz outlined mandatory third-party reviews of the odor mitigation plan, groundwater use, electricity draw, stream setbacks, and visual impact of required security fencing before any final vote.