But the conversation brought to mind a date seven days earlier as the board and the public relived many of the same arguments that have dominated the body s discussion for months as it hashes out a new zoning bylaw to regulate the production of cannabis. I ve said this a half dozen times, I m amazed I have to say it again, Andrew Skinner said as he pushed the board to draft a bylaw that allows less canopy square footage for outdoor production. Planning Board members could be forgiven for feeling kinship to Bill Murray s character in the movie Groundhog Day as they heard many of the same arguments from some familiar faces.
Anne Hogeland, bottom, addresses the Williamstown Planning Board and Town Planer Andrew Groff, top left. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. For more than a year, the Planning Board has been hearing from people with strong opinions about whether the town should allow outdoor cannabis cultivation. On Thursday, one member made a plea for comments who are not quite as invested in the issue. We re going to hear those [strong advocates], and there s a reason they re the ones who are most interested. But you ve got a much larger portion of the town. … That s the stress testing I d like to know. Maybe it s not possible before you put [a bylaw amendment] up there. But I d like to know, for the massive middle of folks, whether [setbacks] ranging from 100 feet to 400 feet, allowing the largest size [plantation] but making it more restrictive, whether these ideas are intuitive to them, whether it makes sense to them, whether it s something they could see in their town.