ZBA Grants Relief to Cannabis Cultivation and Processing Center on Hampden St.

The Zoning Board of Appeal (ZBA) on Tuesday granted relief to a proposed cannabis establishment at 100-114 Hampden St. The proposed project will be operated by Green Line Boston Cannabis, and has the following violations: cannabis establishment is conditional, and off street parking is insufficient. Attorney Richard Lynds said this project “is the first of its kind in the City of Boston that we’re aware of, and Green Line’s goal here is to create a brand that would be unique to Boston and that would compete with large publicly traded out of state companies that are likely to get involved in this emerging industry here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”

Lynds said that this facility would create at least 30 full time jobs for Boston residents, as well as generate revenue for the surrounding community. It will also “substantially improve the property value, security and safety of the land and surrounding area, and will not result in a detrimental impact to the neighborhood.”

The lot where this facility would sit is currently vacant and used for vehicle and material storage. Lynds said that the site is surrounded by a number of industrial manufacturing uses, including a trash transfer facility, as well as storage and other light industrial uses. Lynds also said that the proposed project would be in excess of 500 feet from the Orchard Gardens K-8 school, which is the nearest educational facility. This is a requirement of both the zoning code, as well as state regulations regarding cannabis establishments.

“We are not aware of any facility that’s been approved by this board that would be within a half mile radius of this site,” Lynds said, which is another regulation in the zoning code for the City of Boston. Lynds told the ZBA that the violation of insufficient off-street parking is no longer relevant, as that was a violation from an earlier iteration of the building when it was a much larger space. “Throughout the process, we have worked to downsize the size of this building to below 20,000 square feet,” he said. Many people spoke in support of this proposal, and no one spoke in opposition to. The ZBA approved a motion to grant the conditional use permit with the proviso that there is ongoing BPDA design review

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