Malden Vol. 29, No. 3 -FREEHonoring Rev. Dr. King's Legacy — see page 11 ADVOCATE www.advocatenews.net Published Every Friday 617-387-2200 Friday, January 17, 2020 Residents ask city to pause retail cannabis licensing Former ward councillor asks for further community input By Barbara Taormina A crowd of residents filled the back four rows of the seats at the Senior Center auditorium Tuesday night to protest the city’s ongoing licensing review for retail marijuana shops. The Cannabis Licensing and Enforcement Commission was scheduled to present an update on the status of the city’s licensing process to the City Council, but City Council President Jadeane Sica announced the presentation was postponed due to a scheduling conflict. Nevertheless, the protesters, many of whom held small signs with a “no” symbol over the words “cannabis shops,” stayed long enough to make their opposition to retail marijuana clear to councillors, who will soon be holding public hearings for special permits for four applicants who were screened and approved by the cannabis commission. Councillors did hear some comments that began with Ward 6 Councillor David Camell proposing that one of his constituents, former CouncilOur 81st Year EDUCATION Next Classes DRIVER 1 Week Day Class Feb. 17 & April 20 2 Week Night Class March 16 CALL - ENROLL or Register Online 617-387-9121 HENRYSAUTOSCHOOL.COM AUTO SCHOOL E EVERETT A “Successful Key To Driving” Since 1938 Gift Certificates Available ter School graduate Eric He, who now attends UMass, also spoke briefly to the council. “They want to give five licenses, but Malden is only five square miles,” said He. “The proportion doesn’t make sense.” He said the number of security guards proposed by license applicants reflects a concern about possible crime, which is at odds with the pride the city takes in providing a safe environment for Malden youths. Four applicants that were GIVING THE NO HIGH SIGN: Residents who oppose retail marijuana shops are calling for more public input, education and community dialog on the new marijuana industry. lor Neil Kinnon, be allowed to speak to the City Council. But the City Council voted 5-4 against Camell’s motion with Councillors Peg Crowe, Amanda Linehan, Ryan O’Malley, Stephen Winslow and Sica voting against giving Kinnon the floor. Kinnon settled for the two minutes the council gives residents to speak during the public comment segment of their meetings. He asked councillors to pause the city’s cannabis licensing process and said there had not been enough public input or dialog with the community. He stressed that the ballot question that passed in 2016 is not the same as the law now in effect. “There’s no harm in pausing,” said Kinnon, adding that Malden is surrounded by communities that have banned retail marijuana. “I am not advocating banFormer city councillor Neil Kinnon cautioned his former peers for moving to quickly to open pot shops. ning it, but I am advocating for certain not to do more than one [license] before we find out what happens,” he said. Boston Street resident Anne Chang echoed Kinnon’s comments, adding that nobody in the community really knew what was going on with cannabis licensing. “We should be provided education about this and provided community engagement,” she said. Mystic Valley Regional Charapproved by the Cannabis Commission have since held community outreach meetings with neighbors who have raised concerns about traffic, parking, public use, availability of marijuana to minors, density of the new industry, possible increases in crime and decreases in property values. MassMedicum, which has proposed a shop at 616 Broadway, Misty Mountain Shop, which hopes to open a business at 323 Commercial St., Standard Naturals, which has plans for a dispensary on CANNABIS | SEE PAGE 6 Roosevelt Park Group seek halt of park improvement plan Group’s letter to EEA cites jurisdiction under Wetlands Act By Barbara Taormina The letter to EEA explains T he Friends of Roosevelt Park and members of the Salemwood Community are asking the state to step in and issue a stop work order for the Roosevelt Park Improvement Plan and its artificial turf athletic field. In a detailed letter to Dan Sieger, assistant secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), members of the two groups outline what they believe are several violations of state and federal law related to the decision to install an artificial turf field at the park. Rishi Reddi, the EEA’s director of environmental justice, has responded that the agency has received the complaint and will be in touch with the groups soon about Roosevelt Park. that the park is located in a floodplain with vegetated wetland on its southern border; it falls under the jurisdiction of the state’s Wetlands Protection Act. Also, the letter emphasizes that the city received a grant to improve the park from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. According to Massachusetts Outdoors 2006, a statewide outdoor recreation plan, land acquired by or developed with Land and Water Conservation Act funding is protected under Article 97, an amendment to the state constitution which safeguards the public’s natural resources. Any land protected under Article 97 cannot be converted from intended use without permission from the National Park Service and the EEA. In their letter, the Friends and members of the Salemwood Community stress that Article 97 protects natural resources, such as the grass field at Roosevelt Park. “We contend that removing 2.18 acres of community natural resource and replacing it with a non-living, artificial surface constitutes ‘converting from intended use’ and therefore requires permission from the National Park Service and the EEA,” they explain, adding that the city doesn’t have the necessary permission. The letter goes on to explain why EEA should deny Malden permission to convert the field. Health and environmental organizations agree that urban heat islands – city neighborhoods where human activity drives up temperatures – are environmental and public health hazards. According to a heat map developed by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Malden has a large heat island that stretches from Waite Street south to Newland Street and from Bowdoin Street in the west to Marlboro Street in the east. A second and smaller heat island affects neighborhoods from the bike path in the north down to Eastern Avenue and from Cross Street to Linwood Street. Four artificial turf fields and Roosevelt Park are bundled together in an area one-tenth of a square mile within the city’s heat island. Artificial turf converts sunlight into heat energy and adds to extreme summertime temperatures. The Friends and the SalemROOSEVELT PARK | SEE PAGE 8
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