A narrow majority of Waterbury voters endorsed recreational marijuana sales in a referendum included on November’s election ballot, but it could take up to six more months before the city is ready to begin accepting applications for cannabis shops.
Waterbury’s Zoning Commission, meeting Jan. 25, approved a six-month extension of an existing moratorium on acceptance of application for recreational cannabis shops. That means would-be recreational cannabis entrepreneurs may have to wait until Aug. 9 to apply.
But it could be sooner, depending on how quickly those regulations are worked out.
City Planner Robert Nerney said the moratorium will give officials time to establish land-use regulations governing recreational cannabis shops, including questions such as distances away from sensitive uses like schools and daycares.
“I think the thought was to see how these issues are dealt with in other communities,” Nerney said.
The first seven recreational cannabis shops in Connecticut opened on Jan. 10, with locations in New Haven, Branford, Montville, Newington, Stamford, Willimantic and Meriden. Two more dispensaries, one in Torrington and another in Danbury, have been approved but did not join the others for the first day of legal sales.
In a referendum on Waterbury’s November ballot, a slim majority of voters signed off on recreational cannabis sales, but the prospect of cannabis cultivation was narrowly defeated.
Waterbury already has a medical marijuana dispensary on East Aurora Street.
