In a nonbinding vote at its August meeting, members of the Community Alliance of Mission Hill did not support a long-gestating proposal for a cannabis dispensary at 1441 Tremont Street.
Team Green, LLC owner Jody Mendoza and her attorney, Sean Coleman, were in front of the CAMH earlier this summer.
At the August meeting, Mendoza and Coleman were back to answer a list of questions and concerns that were raised during the earlier meeting.
Mendoza noted that she has been looking to open a cannabis dispensary for nearly a decade, dating back to before the state cannabis control commission was formed. She pointed to a proposed good neighbor agreement with the Mission Hill neighborhood for the local site that dates back to 2021.
Currently, Mendoza said she is still a year out at best from opening on Tremont Street, noting she still needs zoning board approval and the okay from the city’s inspectional services department before being able to open.
At the beginning of the continued meeting with Mendoza and Coleman on August 19, CAMH President Martin Beinborn listed the ongoing questions and concerns from the last meeting.
Some of the ongoing concerns included whether the location is appropriate and will benefit the neighborhood, questions about the straightforward disclosure of relevant information, and heightened concerns about youth protection that were not evident when the CAMH initially voted on the Tremont Street proposal back in 2021.
10 CAMH members voted against recommending approval of the project this time around, while seven voted in favor and three members abstained.
Several CAMH members said they were concerned about increased traffic in the neighborhood, as well as its proximity to churches and schools and the number of students who will walk past the dispensary.
Other concerns that were raised included the precedent that the Dunkin Donuts next to the proposed location had promised no trash or traffic, yet that promise did not come to fruition.
Mendoza noted that Dunkin Donuts is a large corporation, and that she was a small businesswoman who showed up to the CAMH meetings.
As part of the good neighbor agreement, Mendoza said there would be a nine-person advisory committee that would include a CAMH member and would be able to address any issues with the business almost immediately. She also said that the agreement called for $10,000 a year to be set aside for improvement projects in Mission Hill, and another $10,000 earmarked for Chelsea nonprofit Roca.
Mendoza said she would also commit to hiring local Mission Hill residents for the dispensary when possible.
“If nobody local is applying, then I would have to turn to who is available,” said Mendoza. “However, I can certainly make the commitment and I would be happy to work with anyone from Mission Hill to find a way to communicate any openings. We have also made a commitment to offer a living wage as defined by the city of Boston.”
During the meeting, Coleman detailed the security details and delivery schedules that would go into operating the dispensary. He also listed Team Green’s commitments to Mission Hill, including maintaining a clean and professionally managed storefront, strictly preventing underage access, minimizing customer disruption to neighbors, managing deliveries to minimize traffic in the neighborhood, prohibiting on-site cannabis consumption, and maintaining open communication with neighborhood partners.
“I just want to operate a nice, legal safe business and do the best I can and I assure you that I will do that,” said Mendoza.