JAY — Selectpersons voted Monday to develop a referendum question to ask voters on Nov. 2 if they want to authorize the operation of adult use marijuana cultivation facilities and products manufacturing facilities in town.

In April 2019, residents voted 204-200 to reject the operation of adult-use and medical marijuana stores, cultivation facilities and products manufacturing facilities. After Dec. 13, 2018, Maine law requires that municipalities seeking to allow medical or adult-use marijuana facilities must opt into the state’s marijuana program.

Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere had given the board options to consider. Mark Mancini, a resident and  businessman of Jay, had requested on July 26 for the town to consider a new vote on adult use marijuana for marijuana cultivation and manufacturing businesses but not retail stores.

In an “About the Agenda” information, LaFreniere provided to the board and media, she wrote that she had spoken with an attorney the town had previously worked with on marijuana issues. After talking it through, it was decided it “might be best if we keep it as simple as possible,” LaFreniere said.

Since Jay has not opted in to the state marijuana program for any of the marijuana questions and has no ordinances regulating it, and very few ordinances regulating any other land use activities, it might be easiest just to vote on the requested adult use cultivation and manufacturing and to include in the same question approval of an ordinance containing performance standards, she said.

The attorney is willing to work with the town to put together a simple ordinance, LaFreniere said.

The board would have to approve the ballot question 60 days ahead of the vote but the ordinance would not have to be ready at that point, she said.

“This would allow the town to take a slow approach and only address the specific request,” she said. “If that goes well and we get further requests down the road, the board could choose to vote on those at a later date and would have a base ordinance to add performance standards to.

Board Chairman Terry Bergeron said he liked the option “where we just vote on one thing” and he recommended they go with marijuana cultivation facilities and products manufacturing.

Selectperson Lee Ann Dalessandro said she did too.

The wording of the referendum question would be something like: “Shall the town vote to authorize within the municipality the operation of adult use marijuana cultivation facilities and products manufacturing, provided they operate in compliance with all applicable state and local requirements and adopt the ordinance … containing performance standards for such facilities.”

The actual wording of the warrant question will be developed in conjunction with the attorney and brought back to the board at its next meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 23 at the Town Office, LaFreniere said.

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