Page 2 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2022 MARIJUANA | FROM PAGE 1 describes itself as “A Massachusetts based Cannabis startup company with provisional licenses awarded by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) for both Marijuana Cultivation and Product Manufacturing. “Located in Lynn, MA, Bostica, LLC has secured a special permit from the Lynn City Council to Cultivate and Process Marijuana at its proposed 45,000 Sq./Ft. facility. The company has also executed a Host Community Agreement with the City of Lynn.” “Bostica was established in 2018 by Jarrod and his father Ray Falite. Together the pair have more than 60 years’ experience in commercial real estate development, construction and operations management, and HVAC design and installation, the latter of which is critical for indoor growing operations,” according to the website. “Committed to cultivating excellence, Bostica’s state-ofthe-art facility will produce ideal growing conditions 24/7. The superior environmental control ensures end products of consistently high quality to meet the expectations of Massachusetts increasingly experienced consumers,” it said. In his interview with The Saugus Advocate this week, Capano talked about why Bostica is considering the Route 1 spot. “What we like about the location is it’s on the edge of Saugus — where there are very few abutters — and most of them being businesses,” “We feel this is the best location because it’s away from neighborhoods, parks and playgrounds. This is the best location we could fi nd to place a retail marijuana establishment in Saugus,” he said. The proposed location also happens to conform with the provisions of Article 36 — the amendment to the town’s Zoning Bylaws supported by Town Meeting (33-13 vote) last month to allow for marijuana establishments in town. KEY PARTS OF ARTICLE 36 The following conditions apply for marijuana establishments within the Business Highway Sustainable District (BHSD). The amended version of the approved regulations state that marijuana establishments: • May not be located within 1,000 feet of a pre-existing public or private school providing education in kindergarten or any grades 1 through 12. The buff er zone distance shall be measured along the shortest publicly accessible pedestrian travel path from the Marijuana Establishment entrance to the school entrance. • May not be located within 1,000 feet of a park or playground. The buff er zone distance shall be measured along the shortest publicly accessible pedestrian travel path from the Marijuana Establishment entrance to the park or playground. • May not be located within 1,000 feet of each other. • May not be located in buildings that contain any residential units, including transitional housing, such as hotels, motels and dormitories. The zoning changes are pending approval by the state Attorney General’s Offi ce. But because the process of obtaining a license from the state CCC can take months or more, Capano said Bostica is moving ahead with its plans to brief the town and its residents on the company’s proposal and issues that are involved. BENEFITS CITED FOR SAUGUS “This is a unique opportunity for Saugus,” Capano said. “The local tax option is 3 percent for local taxes. They would get 3 percent of all revenue generated on marijuana products. They would also be getting a good corporate citizen. We would be more than willing to contribute,” he said. “If it’s the parks, we’d love to lend a helping hand. The town has focused on cleaning up the parks and playgrounds,” he said. Cogliano, who authored the article, lobbied at Town Meeting for support with a video he made which documented “deplorable conditions” at Saugus parks, including GoldMARIJUANA | SEE PAGE 4
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