According to co-owner and general manager Danny Taylor, the People’s Joint cannabis dispensary at 501 State Street is scheduled to open in late August.
The cannabis dispensary is located across from the Hampton Inn Hotel and one block from Proctors, centrally located in the heart of downtown.
City Council President Marion Porterfield said last week that with more cannabis businesses set to open in the city, she would put the issue of cannabis business zoning back on the council agenda.
Porterfield raised concerns about the location of the new cannabis store on State Street as visitors to the city’s Summernight celebration passed by the store in July.
“I don’t think it necessarily sends the right message,” Porterfield said. “It’s right in the middle of our downtown and it’s something we could have had a say in.”
The Council had already discussed the classification of cannabis areas at the beginning of the year, but no proposals for the classification have progressed.
Any zoning restrictions passed by the council would have no impact on the State Street store, whose location was approved by the state.
Taylor said The People’s Joint is awaiting an inspection of the store by the state’s Office of Cannabis Management and the dispensary should open shortly thereafter.
Famous Schenectady restaurant owner honored with Luigi Lane
The City Council on June 24 passed zoning restrictions on smoke shops in the city, limiting tobacco and e-cigarette shops to four commercial and industrial zones.
The zoning restrictions for smoke shops do not apply to cannabis shops.
According to state regulations, cannabis dispensaries cannot be located within 150 meters of a school or on the same street as a school, within 60 meters of a place of worship, or within 300 meters of another pharmacy.
Under state regulations, municipalities are permitted to enact local laws that determine the permissible locations for cannabis dispensaries in a particular city, as long as the restrictions do not make it impractical to operate an issued cannabis license.
“There are state laws, but cities and villages are allowed to enact local laws and regulations governing the time, place and manner of serving adult alcoholic beverages,” said corporate counsel Maxine Barasch. “If the council wants to discuss this, we will provide guidance at that time.”
With a state deadline approaching in December 2021, the city council decided not to ban the sale of recreational cannabis. Porterfield opposed that decision.
In March 2023, the city’s first dispensary, Upstate Canna Co., opened on upper Union Street after the City Planning Commission granted site approval this spring for a proposed cannabis store in the pro forma retail complex at 1650 Crane St.
Schenectady home rule bills postponed for second year in a row
The pace of planned dispensaries in the city has picked up, with People’s Joint opening imminent. Other stores in the planning stages include 1354 Lower Broadway and 1643 Eastern Parkway, which also receive state licenses to operate recreational dispensaries.
The State Street pharmacy did not require Planning Commission approval because the board had already approved the apartment complex and retail project on the site of the former Citizens Bank in 2020.
“The city has chosen, with regard to cannabis dispensaries, to be part of the group that submits to the state rather than wait for its own regulations to come into effect,” said Planning Commission Chair Mary Moore Wallinger. “If the state approves (a business) and it is permitted for a particular location, the Planning Commission can have a say in the design and operation of the location, but we have no say in whether or not it can go there.”
Mayor Gary McCarthy said last week he had not discussed the logistical implications of setting up a dispensary at a busy State Street location with city police.
“It’s probably a better location than the one that was allowed to open on upper Union Street,” McCarthy said.
Union College demolishes Phi Delta Theta House
During its first few months of operation, crowds of people lined up on upper Union Street to shop at Upstate Canna Co., a trend that has waned over the past year.
Porterfield said the city council could consider limiting the number of cannabis dispensaries in the city as part of the zoning process.
“Can we dictate how many there can be?” she asked last week. “If not, then it could be as many as can fit within the distancing markers, and that would be the limiting factor. I believe the city needs to have the ability to limit the number of these particular establishments in the city.”
Famous Schenectady restaurant owner honored with Luigi Lane
Schenectady home rule bills postponed for second year in a row
Union College demolishes Phi Delta Theta House
–
