Three Haverhill businessmen have sued the city over improper zoning regulations in an attempt to stop a proposed recreational marijuana store from moving downtown, according to The Eagle-Tribune.
The newspaper reported Bradford Brooks and Llyod Jennings, both trustees of L&B Realty Trust and Steve Dimakis of Mark’s Deli, a trustee of Evthokia Realty Trust, as the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The suit alleges that city zoning for pot shops breaches the constitutional rights of neighboring property owners, violates federal drug laws and is overall damaging to the city, according to the paper.
According to The Eagle-Tribune, City Solicitor William Cox said the three men are looking for the state Land Court to rule on the validity of the city’s zoning.
The lawsuit names 124 Washington St. as the site in question, which is where Caroline Pineau looks to open a pot shop under the name Haverhill Stem LLC, the paper reported. Pineau is leasing the building from The Westland Group LLC, according to The Eagle-Tribune.
Though Pineau is scheduled to seek a special permit from the City Council on June 18, the suit is looking to seek an injunction on that process, the newspaper reports.
Cox told the newspaper that a Land Court hearing will take place at noon on Friday.
According to the Haverhill city code, any marijuana establishment looking for a special permit must file a complete site plan with the City Council. The code also states that the total number of all pot shops can not exceed 20 percent of the number of licensed liquor stores in the city, among other regulations.
Though the sale and possession of marijuana is legal under Massachusetts law, it still remains illegal under federal law.
According to the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug alongside narcotics such as heroin and ecstasy.
This is not the first time a municipality has been sued over marijuana business zoning in Massachusetts.
In August 2018, residents of Charlton unsuccessfully attempted to rescind existing marijuana zoning rules at a special town meeting, arguing that the rule had put no limit on the number, size and location of marijuana cultivation businesses, the Worcester Telegram-Gazette reported.
The result was a months long effort by citizens to enact a general bylaw which would ban marijuana business in the town, according to the Telegram-Gazette.
The business in question, Valley Green Grow, eventually sued the town in state Land Court, alleging the proposed general bylaw directly contradicted existing host and development agreements inked with the Board of Selectmen, the Telegram-Gazette reported.
In March, the state Land Court ruled in favor of Valley Green Grow, stating that the town could only change zoning regulations through a zoning bylaw, the Telegram-Gazette reported.
In a similar case, Brewster was sued in Land Court by planned marijuana cultivation facility Cape Cod Grow Lab and planned dispensary Haven Center after a general bylaw banned recreational cannabis shops in the town, the Cape Cod Times reported.
That lawsuit was dropped after Attorney General Maura Healey’s office disapproved that bylaw, the newspaper reported.
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