A retail marijuana shop in Alaska. The photo is from Wikimedia.
DERBY — The city’s planning and zoning commission voted Tuesday on areas where a marijuana grower or a marijuana seller can set up shop in Derby.
The state legalized the growing and selling marijuana (with a long list of complicated regulations) last year. Businesses looking to enter the marijuana business need to be licensed. The state is scheduled to open the license application process in February.
Towns and cities all over the state have been modifying zoning codes to allow — or to not allow — marijuana-related businesses to be created.
According to the city’s planning consultants, based on the way the state regulations are written using a formula based on population, Derby has the capacity for one “micro” growing facility and one retail shop. A micro grow facility is one that is between 2,000 and 10,000 square feet.
According to previous reports given to the Derby Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen, at least one business has been in contact with Derby City Hall about opening a marijuana business in the city.
Based on the zoning rules adopted Tuesday, “cannabis establishments” could go in:
* The B‑1 business zones, which includes part of Pershing Drive and the commercial district of New Haven Avenue (Route 34) in east Derby (click this link to open a PDF of the city’s zoning code)
A cannabis establishment could open in east Derby on Route 34. A retail shop could open in a shopping center provided the shopping center building overall is at least 50,000 square feet.
* The B‑2 business zones, which includes the area in west Derby between Roosevelt Drive and the Housatonic River (Mattei’s Deli and Calvert Safe and Lock area), along with parts of Route 34 where Dunkin Donuts and the former Reid’s BBQ are located (Reid’s announced its closure in a social media post Dec. 31).
* The MDD zones, which includes Roosevelt Drive in the area of the former Derby Cellular products
A B-2 zone next to a MDD zone along Roosevelt Drive (Route 34) in west Derby.
* The I‑1 zone, which stretches between Water Street (the Suburban Propane area) to the Naugatuck River
* The I‑C zone, which includes land in east Derby on the city’s border with Woodbridge
“No cannabis establishment shall be located within 1,500 feet from another cannabis establishment, church, school, or playground,” Derby’s regulation states.
Derby’s rules say any business marijuana business would have to get a site plan approved from the Derby P&Z, in addition to the formal license from the state Department of Consumer Protection.
Whether a marijuana-related business will come to Derby remains to be seen. The state’s marijuana regulations gives businesses trying to open in Derby (and Ansonia) a leg up. Derby (and Ansonia, along with downtown Shelton) is considered a city “disproportionately impacted” by the laws that previously made marijuana illegal. The formula used to make that determination includes drug conviction rates and unemployment.
In a statement to The Valley Indy Wednesday, Mayor Rich Dziekan commended the P&Z’s action.
“I believe the P&Z did a very good job complying with the new state law that was passed, while looking out for the best interest of our residents by limiting the zones were such an establishment is permitted and requiring anyone looking to open a cannabis establishment to come before the commission for approval before they could open,” Dziekan said.
The video below contains a discussion about marijuana regulations the Derby P&Z had in November.
