HOLYOKE — The City Council’s Ordinance Committee has recommended granting High End Management and Four Trees Holyoke LLC one-year special permit extensions. Both companies plan marijuana cultivation and manufacturing operations.
However, the panel had concerns about Four Trees’ recent acquisition by a cannabis company and an expiring special permit.
High End plans to set up a marijuana cultivation facility on Winter Street. The company secured the special permit before COVID-19, but experienced delays as the pandemic worsened.
Helen Gomez-Anderson, of High End, said the company had to pursue new capital because of the delay. In the past few months, High End has worked on the building design and obtaining a property appraisal.
The firm is likely to start construction in the coming months, but obtaining a permanent operating license from the Cannabis Control Commission may take up to six months.
The City Council is expected to vote on High End’s application during its regular session Tuesday, April 4. The Ordinance Committee recommended a one-year extension for High End, maintaining the original special permit conditions in place.
Committee members thanked Gomez-Anderson for the firm’s continued investment and commitment to the community.
Four Trees Holyoke proposed a 5,000-square-foot dispensary and cultivation establishment at 1 Cabot St. The ownership changed recently, and the new owner, Milltown Agriculture, sought an extension of the permit.
The Four Trees special permit expired in February and the company’s CEO went on leave, according to Edward McNamara, Milltown Agriculture’s director of business operations.
The companies merged in 2022.
McNamara said a name change was in the works for Four Trees, which would require amending the provisional state license. Milltown Agriculture would not have to restart the state licensing process.
The Ordinance Committee included language in the extension mentioning the expected name change.
Councilor-at-Large Israel Rivera said Milltown was responsible for ensuring that Four Trees Holyoke’s original special permit had not expired.
Assistant City Solicitor Michael Bissonnette said state law allows special permits to expire in up to three years, and municipalities have the authority to grant one-year extensions. Like High End, Milltown Agriculture could cite pandemic delays, the merger and the statute of limitations.
However, the “clock had run out” on the two-year special permit for Four Trees Holyoke. The City Council held the right to restart the application process, Bissonnette said. He recommended the council detail all issues with the application before any vote, including unique circumstances.
William Wong, of Milltown Agricultural, said the company had more than a dozen employees, of whom 60% are Holyoke residents. The company expects to open the proposed dispensary by summer.
Wong worried that any more delays could cost Milltown Agricultural $1.5 million in projected revenues, resulting in a half-dozen employees losing their jobs. “We have a great operating team and managed to turn a business around. It’s a challenging environment for a small business,” he said.
Wong added that delaying the dispensary project could affect the company’s other operations. Over $9 million has been invested in the project so far.
Councilor-at-Large Kevin Jourdain said the council must follow a uniform process for all applicants. He added that Milltown Agriculture had a “duty” to file an extension application before the special permit expired.
Jourdain asked the city’s Law and Planning Departments to examine if an extension could be granted.
Ward 5 Councilor Linda Vacon, the Ordinance Committee chair, said the evening’s agenda showed that Four Trees Holyoke was applying for the extension and not Milltown Agriculture. “We need to be fair and consistent with applications and of what we’re doing,” she said.
Councilor-at-Large Joseph M. McGiverin said the extension application was filed in a timely fashion. He did not see any problem with granting the extension but took issue with the name change.
The committee closed the public hearing and recommended granting Four Trees/Milltown Agriculture’s extension under “exceptional circumstances (COVID-19),” funding challenges, and name and ownership changes.
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