LISBON — The Lisbon Cannabis Co. remains on life support after the Town Council last week failed to garner enough votes to deny its license renewal.

A month ago, the council voted against renewing the company’s license. However, according to town regulations, voting against renewing the license is not the same as voting to deny the license, meaning the issue was effectively tabled until the council could vote again on the matter.

A proposal to deny the license for not meeting code regulations passed by a 3-2 vote, but Lisbon rules mandate that four votes are required for a denial. Chris Camire and Jeremy Barnard voted against the denial. Nicholas Craig was absent and Chairman Fern Larochelle recused himself because the mortgage on the building is held by his company, Larochelle Properties.

Norman Albert, Mark Lunt and Jo-Jean Keller voted to deny the license.

Lisbon Cannabis Co., located in a 5,376-square-foot commercial property at 5 Canal St., is on the first floor of the two-story building along the Androscoggin River. The second floor had operated a separate cannabis business — 207 Edibles.  The businesses had operated since 2020, and their licenses have been renewed each year. The building had been cited for minor code violations over the years, but they were quickly resolved.

That changed earlier this year when Code Enforcement Officer Mark Stambach cited several serious violations in the building, including electrical, plumbing, signs and life-safety issues. In February, those violations prompted the council to deny a license renewal for 207 Edibles and its owner, Lorelei Hilliker.

Hilliker has urged the board to treat Lisbon Cannabis Co. owner Jason Smith the same way she was and deny his license. Smith, however detailed a rehabilitation plan he had signed with the town in April to fix the violations.

That rehab plan, while not completed, enabled some councilors to support Smith’s renewal as he worked to fix the remaining violations. Smith once again spoke last week of the progress the business had made to comply with code, including fixing the plumbing, electrical and sign violations. But Stambach had not inspected the building after Smith said the work was completed so town officials have not been able to confirm that the business is in compliance.

Barnard recommended the board continue to table the issue until code enforcement can inspect the property. That motion failed 3-2, but with not enough affirmative votes to support denial, the council voted again to postpone the measure by a 5-0 vote.