Cannabis-related businesses are being proposed for two separate locations in New Haven, including one on Middletown Avenue and another on Sargent Drive.
The Middletown Avenue proposal has garnered some early opposition, including from individuals citing concern about its suitability for the neighborhood and proximity to a school.
Both applications were on the agenda for the City Plan Commission meeting on Wednesday, but the panel postponed discussion until its July 19 meeting, according to City Planner Esther Rose-Wilen.
Applicant Affinity Health and Wellness LLC is seeking a special permit for a cannabis dispensary at 420 Middletown Ave., longtime home of the 91 Diner, which is close to I-91.
Affinity already has a cannabis retail location at 1351 Whalley Ave., in New Haven.
Pharmacist Ray Pantalena, principal of Affinity Health & Wellness, has indicated he needs a larger space. Earlier this year, Pantalena had sought to move the business to 130 Amity Rd., but he indicated he is no longer pursuing that location and would like to move to Middletown Avenue instead.
Area members of the Board of Alders submitted a letter to the City Plan Commission opposing a cannabis dispensary at the former Middletown Avenue restaurant site. The letter was signed by Alders Gerald Antunes, Richard Furlow, Sarah Miller, Anna Festa and Ernie Santiago.
“Being across the street from a new child care center which will be opening soon is a major concern for residents and parents,” the letter states. “It is also directly next door to a major apartment building and it is within 1500 feet of a school (Ross-Woodward School).”
New Haven Police Lt. Brian McDermott, in a letter to the commission, also indicated he is concerned about the proposal’s proximity to the new Friends Center for Children.
The childhood learning center campus is going into the nearby site of a former movie theater.
“There is other commercial space available in the Foxon Boulevard area that may be more appropriate for this type of business,” McDermott wrote.
Pantalena, reached Thursday, declined to comment.
The City Plan Commission also will be considering a separate application in July from Massachusetts-based INSA CT Retail II. It is seeking a special permit and site plan review for a cannabis retailer at 222 Sargent Drive.
The company wants to renovate a portion of the former Long Wharf Theatre building into a cannabis retail business. The applicant is leasing approximately 10,800 square feet, with plans to use about 6,282 square feet for the retail space, the application shows. There are no plans to change the exterior of the building.
If INSA CT Retail II secures the necessary city approvals, it aims to start construction in September and finish in the spring of 2024, according to the application.
