To the Editor:
The Planning Board of the Town of New Marlborough had the calamitous task of hosting a public meeting to discuss the merits of an application for a “special permit” submitted on January 29, 2018 by CEO Joshua Seitz of Oasis Campus LLC for “Commercial Greenhouses for the cultivation, processing, testing of medicinal and recreational cannabis.”
Unfortunately, you know you are in deep trouble:
1. when, 50 well informed citizens show up to your meeting with many more facts and unanswered questions than either the applicant or the Planning Board members are prepared to answer.
2. when, a former town official has to publicly reprimand a Planning Board member for “his apparent swagger and arrogance that was demeaning to the tax payers of New Marlborough.”
3. when, the centerpiece of your plan requires 900 gallons of water per plant per season [Dept of Fish & Wildlife estimate] and you are locating it on “Dry Hill,” where wells typically run dry under seasonal weather conditions.
4. when, the “industrial park like setting” and “extraordinarily high water usage” are diametrically opposed to the New Marlborough Open Space & Recreation Plan that calls for: “protecting open space, preserving the rural character of the villages, protecting water resources and quality of water, and increasing community connections and recreational opportunities.”
5. when, the windfall profit revenue sources are dangled before the Planning Board members, only to be countered by the U.S. News & World Report article that cites: “In Colorado the additional revenue from marijuana taxes hasn’t necessarily proven a windfall for those with cannabis businesses. ‘I don’t think it is the pot of gold that some folks might think it is, because a lot has to go into higher administration and law enforcement costs.’ ”
Yes, you can request a special permit to build an “Oasis on top of Dry Hill,” at the expense of the surrounding neighborhood, but it remains to be determined whether the town boards in New Marlborough, will grant the special permit and provide the lipstick.
Lucinda Shmulsky
New Marlborough
