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Northeast Alternatives caught off guard by Fall River City Council cease and desist suggestion
Discussions about traffic issues surrounding Northeast Alternatives, Fall River’s only licensed dispensary selling both recreational and medicinal marijuana, quickly turned to whether or not the business actually has the proper permits to be cultivating marijuana at their location.
Fall River Inspection Services Director Glenn Hathaway was sent a request from the Fall River City Council on November 13th to determine whether or not Northeast Alternatives was properly zoned and holding the necessary permits to cultivate marijuana at it’s 999 William S Canning Boulevard location. Mr. Hathaway indicated that should his findings show that the business is not properly zoned nor permitted, a cease and desist may be issued. “I have a little bit more work to do, but I plan on having a response to the city councils request no later than Monday morning.” When asked if his letter would include a cease and desist order, Hathaway stated he wanted to inform the council first before speaking to the public on the matter.
At the November 12th city council meeting, city councilors Stephen Long and Leo Pelletier stated that the city should issue a cease and desist order on the business if they were not properly zoned as a growing operation. Today, however, Councilor Long has stated he does not believe a cease and desist is in anyone’s best interest. “The city council can not issue a cease and desist on a business, we could only advise that one be issued through the appropriate department. At this point, I would not recommend that we take that action.” Long stated that no one would benefit from the business closing, even temporarily, and it would be a “significant loss of revenue to the city” if Northeast closed.
Someone who could benefit from the closure, however, would be Solar Therapeutics. Located just over the bridge in the neighboring town of Somerset, the only licensed dispensary in that town is ready to take on the overflow of customers who may not have anywhere to go. CEO Edward Dow is hoping that if there is a closure, customers will head their way. “We are looking to grow our brand. I don’t wish for any business to close, even for a short time, but we are ready.” Dow spoke of the location of Solar Therapeutics in a non-residential area and it’s abundance of over 100 parking spaces as an attractive option to customers. Dow stated that his company has the proper zoning and permits in place and that the town of Somerset has been easy to work with. “Our experience with the town has been super positive. We are very happy.”
During the city council meeting, Long stated that he did not like what he was seeing from Northeast Alternatives and said “it stinks”, he may have changed his tune. When asked today if he thought the company had deliberately circumvented the permit process, Long stated that this is the first business of it’s kind in Fall River and that there may be a “learning curve” for all parties involved. Long stated that he believes the conversation surrounding the process and permits around cultivation will continue well into the new year, but noted that he did not seek re-election and would most likely not be voting on actions before he leaves office.
City Planner Bill Roth hopes to provide some clarity on the zoning issue. Roth was issued a request by the city council on October 8th to research all reasonable regulations and bylaws for the cultivation and sale of both medicinal and recreational marijuana. Roth indicates that there is some basic, general zoning regulations that have been adopted by communities throughout Massachusetts, but that more specific bylaws can be put in place if necessary.
Owner of Northeast Alternatives Chris Haskins was caught off guard by the cease and desist suggestion. Haskins stated that the Community Host Agreement his company has with the city of Fall River includes cultivation of product. Furthermore, Haskins stated that the city does not have any zoning laws in place for cultivation and therefore, nothing to apply for. Haskins watched the city council meeting where the issues were discussed and was focused on the traffic concerns of citizens when the zoning and suggestion of a cease and desist “came out of nowhere”. Haskins continues to work with the city and residents to help with the traffic issues that are effecting neighbors in the area. Haskins was issued a letter from the city clerks office on behalf of the city council requesting a meeting with him and members of city government to further discuss these issues. Haskins says he is looking forward to attending and discussing matters further. “Northeast Alternatives has provided over 1 million dollars of tax revenue to the city of Fall River this year and we want to continue to do that.”
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SocialCrustaceCrusader
November 22, 2019 at 3:49 pm
Giant circle jerk taking place on this matter, our city politicians are anti resident and are looking to thwart the will of those who voted for legalizing the ganja. This is just the beginning people, because the new administration and it’s cohorts will seek too dominate the citizenry and any industry that has revenues like the herb business.
Jeffrey Rezendes
November 23, 2019 at 9:38 am
SocialCrustaceCrusader
You don’t know what the new administration is going to do! The old administration lead by the corrupt Kid Mayor Correia and his co-conspirators are to blame! That administration rushed and gave approval to have that company to do business in that area of the city in Fall River. The administration didn’t think it though long enough to see that a problem could occur! The Kid Mayor Correia just wanted that Money ($10K )from that company for his ill gotten games he was playing. Let’s see what happens when the new Mayor is sworn in, in January before u make negative comments!
SocialCrustaceCrusader
November 23, 2019 at 5:35 pm
Your pretty bright my friend when you say that the previous admin. gave approval for northeast alt. It was actually the state marijuana commission that gave the approval. Fall River simply issued a letter of non opposition
and a host community agreement. The hate that you harbor for jasiel is your problem, I hope you can overcome that. If you have been paying any attention to people like Carol Fiola, Steve Long, Leo Pelletier, Pam Labeau, and I could go on you would see an attempted power grab over this new and fledgling industry that the “people” voted for. Don’t try to tell me that I can’t predict what’s next with the new administration especially since many of them have telegraphed exactly how they feel. As for the location of northeast alt. maybe homes should be kept out of comm. and industrial districts. Sorry you find negativity out of reality. Jeffrey Rezendes thanks for the debate at least you can communicate, more than I can say for most of the citizenry and our representitives. Happy Thanksgiving Bro!
Derek
November 23, 2019 at 2:46 pm
Well hey, no offense but this place is sketchy. I purchased a pre roll from them, only to find that the item was not in the package. 25 dollars for a joint I didn’t get. So I brought in my receipt and the tube and asked for a replacement. I was told that there isn’t anything they can do about it.
SocialCrustaceCrusader
November 23, 2019 at 5:48 pm
Derek are you sure you didn’t smoke the jib and then fogot about it. That is some high powered herb they sell, just saying! LOL…
Myles
November 25, 2019 at 2:45 am
North east alternatives has the worst record in products and in customer service in the last year and a half they are steadily going downhill & that the company itself has to buy their flower from other places because they can’t even grow their room properly they even package their flower and say that it’s certain amount of ounces when in reality they take some out I’ve weighed it myself at home and it’s not the same amount as what it says on the package!!!!!
It wouldn’t be a big loss if NEA We’re to close bc there are so MANY Dispensaries in Fall River ….. if City Counsel would just get off there ass and issue licenses for recreational sale to the dispensaries that are currently medical only and BTW have a higher record of EXCELLENCE In Products They Grow On Their Own And Products Made!……. Not to Mention Customer Service Excellence!!! A few great Dispensaries that had applied for Recreational ages ago are STILL WAITING TO THE ANNOYANCE OF CUSTOMERS/Voters…..
While Fall River is making them wait because of the only reason……The Corruption by NEA and there many shady dealings including getting their recreational license only because they contributed thousands of dollars toward former And equally corrupt Mayor Correira ‘s campaign so they were the first to get their recreational license and when the shit hit the fan all recreational licenses were put on hold supposedly until January 2020 . Instead of making things so difficult obviously those that have not kept in line with the rules and regulations of what they signed up for should obviously be punished and yes a cease and desist it’s perfectly fine BC if it were any other small business in Fall River that added extra to their business & didn’t do what they were supposed to according to what they signed on for …….you could be sure they would be shut down,or cease & desist or reprimanded to be made examples of ……
but because it’s a dispensary that makes a lot of money you’re going to have one politician saying “oh well hold on now my pockets are quite full yet” ….
But NEA is not the only dispensaries in Fall River and they’re not even a good dispensary out of 10 they’re like a 5!!!
SocialCrustaceCrusader
November 26, 2019 at 8:09 am
Wow, that was more than a mouthful there Myles. Full of disinfo and distortions I think this one might have a vested interest somewhere outside of Northeast. I’m no spokesperson for any dispensary though if any come calling I’d do it for the right salary. Fall River should become a leader in the pot industry which would require all of our political egoists to stop the phony outrage over embracing such industry. More competition means better pricing and more choice for consumer’s and more tax revenue for the city.