Plans for a Marijuana Outlet Spark Lively Opposition in Stamford and Darien

STAMFORD – Residents of The Cove came out Tuesday for their waterside neighborhood just south of Interstate-95.

They do not want the Zoning Board to approve a retail outlet for marijuana for 1308 East Main St., as the Planning Board has recommended.

Enough is enough, residents said during a Cove Neighborhood Association meeting at Giovanni’s restaurant, across the street from the proposed site of Nautilus Botanicals.

A woman in the crowd said it’s not OK for the city to keep packing things into The Cove, a densely populated neighborhood of modest single-family and multi-family homes interspersed with small businesses. She raised her voice to be heard over the 100 or so people gathered.

“It’s like, ‘Give it to The Cove. They don’t care,’” the woman said.

A neighbor, Gina Calabrese, expanded the point.

“I am not against responsible, recreational use by adults,” Calabrese told an retail marijuana investor who attended the meeting. “I just do not understand why we need a third dispensary, and possibly a fourth, in the southeastern part of Stamford.”

After the state allowed companies to sell marijuana for recreational use three years ago, Stamford zoning officials set a five-dispensary limit for the city. Two are operating nearby – Curaleaf at 814 East Main St. and Fine Fettle at 12 Research Drive. A third, Sweetspot, is set to open in August at 111 High Ridge Road.

Nautilus Botanicals is seeking to open at 1308 East Main St., site of The Boatyard BBQ & Grill. That’s after the Zoning Board rejected Nautilus’ previous application for 1110 East Main St., citing traffic and parking problems. 

Nautilus took the Zoning Board to court over that decision but its attorney has said the company will drop the case if The Boatyard BBQ site is approved.

That’s not the way it should go, Calabrese said.

The stores “happen to be distributed in a middle- and blue-collar part of town. Why is that?” Calabrese said. “It’s because the people making the decisions … don’t live here. Two is enough within a two-mile radius.”

Zoning officials amend regulations to allow outlets for marijuana in The Cove, East Side, West Side, Glenbrook and similar neighborhoods, residents said. But they don’t do it for wealthier, less densely populated areas.

“Put it in North Stamford!” someone from the crowd shouted about the dispensary.

“Go to North Stamford!” someone else shouted.

When Mitch Baruchowitz, managing partner with Merida Capital, a private equity firm backing Nautilus Botanicals, said he lives in Rye, N.Y., another shout came from the crowd.

“Put it in Rye!”

Baruchowitz said he asked for the meeting with the Cove Neighborhood Association to answer questions from residents.

“You always want to hear from the community, to be respectful,” Baruchowitz said. “This is part of the process.”

The crowd from The Cove gave him a hard time. They were joined by Darien residents concerned that the proposed dispensary site is located on the Stamford-Darien border.

When Baruchowitz said a high percentage of marijuana customers use it for medical reasons, including cancer, multiple sclerosis and seizure disorder, people in the crowd said many customers use it “just to get high.” 

When Baruchowitz said most marijuana is consumed at home, members of the crowd said those people still get in their cars, endangering others on the road.

When Baruchowitz said consuming marijuana on the site of the dispensary is illegal, they pointed to complaints from Stamford residents who live near the Curaleaf dispensary and report that customers are getting high in the parking lot.

“You have to watch your cameras and see what’s happening on your property so you can stop illegal behavior,” Baruchowitz said.

“It’s not happening!” someone in the crowd shouted back.

Stamford residents said the intersection beside the proposed site, which leads to the city’s busiest park, Cove Island, is already congested with vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists, and has more than its share of accidents. 

It can’t accommodate the 120 to 200 daily visits Baruchowitz estimates for the dispensary, residents said.

“I-95 is right there,” a woman said. “You’re trying to get everyone off I-95 to come to you.”

A Darien woman said she’s worried about the aesthetics of the building that will replace The Boatyard BBQ & Grill.

“Now it looks nice … it’s at the entry to Darien,” she said. “It has a tremendous effect on property values … and perception.”

Baruchowitz said the dispensary will look like a medical building.

Darien First Selectman Jon Zagrodzky said he’s concerned that the site is half a mile from the Darien YMCA, and about a mile from Hindley Elementary School and three church-run preschools.

Zagrodzky said the proposal now before the Stamford Zoning Board is “too close to home.” He said he’s also worried that the concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is much higher than it was in decades past.

A report from the U.S. surgeon general showed that the THC concentration in marijuana increased generally from 3 percent to 5 percent in the 1990s to 18 percent and more — in some cases 76 percent – in 2014.

But “the reality is that the law is on [Baruchowitz’] side” and Stamford’s zoning regulations are “set up to approve this,” admited Zagrodzky.

“It’s a legal business – that’s capitalism. These were duly elected officials who were empowered to come up with the rules,” Zagrodzky said. “The way to fight it is to make your voices heard.”

He and elected Stamford officials at the meeting urged residents to write letters, gather signatures on petitions, and attend a Stamford Zoning Board public hearing scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on May 6. 

During the hearing, which will be on Zoom, residents are allowed three minutes to speak. If the list of speakers is long, the time is limited to one minute. Cove Neighborhood Association President Lyle Fishell said Darien residents will be allowed to speak.

The agenda will be posted Monday. To see it, visit here and click on “2024 agendas.”

It may be an animated public hearing.

Baruchowitz Tuesday tried to explain that Stamford zoning regulations allow outlets for marijuana in a small number of areas, so the choice of sites is limited.

“Find us a location that you think is suitable,” he told the crowd.

“You find it!” people shouted back. “That’s your job!”