Just going to give this a moment to let the waiting room clear. As a reminder, please mute yourself as you enter the hearing. Okay. Good afternoon. This is a hearing before the Boston Cannabis Board, the BCB. Today is August 13, 2025.
Today's hearing is being conducted pursuant to temporary amendments to the open meeting law. This is what allows us to meet virtually. This hearing is being recorded and will be posted to the city of Boston's website. Before I review some procedural matters, I will introduce Chairwoman Kathleen Joyce.
>> Thank you, Luke. Good afternoon. My name is Kathleen Joyce. I'm chair of the Boston Cannabis um commission board and I'm pleased today to be joined by Commissioner Lisa Holmes, Commissioner John Smith, Commissioner Raone Sodto, Commissioner Sonel Gandhi, and
Commissioner John Kensley. >> Okay. Thank you, Chairwoman Joyce. My name is Luke Sanaus and I am the Boston Cannabis Licensing Specialist for the Boston Cannabis Board. I will be begin by calling each item in the order they appear on the agenda. We have one amendment item to an already approved
license, a new license application and a new license application that was deferred from the May 28th meeting. The L E for the amendment will have five minutes to present followed by questions and comments from the board members. We will then move to the new license application who will have 10 minutes to
present to the Boston Cannabis Board followed by questions and comments from the board members. We will then take public testimony beginning with elected officials or the representatives followed by the general public. The new lency deferred from the May 28th hearing will be given five minutes to present
followed by questions and comments from the board. No f further public testimony will be accepted on that matter. If you wish to testify, please sign up via the link that will be put in the chat. You may use you additionally you may use the chat function to request to testify as well. Please wait until the matter in
which you would like to speak about is called. Do not use the chat to give testimony will none be considered. Please state your full name, address, and affiliation. Testimony will be limited to two minutes at which time you will be muted. Additional testimony may be submitted in writing to cannabis board atboston.gov.
The record will be kept open until Tuesday, August 19th at 5:00 p.m. The BCB does not give any more weight to spoken testimony than it does to written testimony. Okay, we will begin with our first item. The L E is HV Massachusetts, Inc. doing
business as Happy Valley. The license premise is 220 Mlen Highway in East Boston. The license type is a co-located marijuana retailer and medical treatment center license. The request is to amend the operating hours from the current hours of 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. 7 days
a week. And they are requesting to change these hours from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. 7 days a week. Who is present on behalf of the Lency? >> Thank you. Thank you. U Madame Chair, uh attorney Jeff Drago with Drago and Tuscano with the business address of 11
Beacon Street here on behalf of HV Massachusetts Inc. doing business as Happy Valley. And I also have Michael Rearen who's the CEO uh who can answer any questions on behalf of the company as well. Um, thank you for your time and
uh, as was mentioned, we're here seeking to amend the hours of operation from its current hours, which are 7 days a week at this location from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. to add an additional 2 hours 7 days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Um
just given a little bit of background uh Happy Valley was one of the first locations to be approved for um medicinal marijuana at this location at 220 Mlen Highway. Uh then in 2020 in October they signed a host community
agreement as both a coll-located medical uh and adult use uh location and they've been doing business uh since then in East Boston uh and they've been an active member of the community just given their location along Mlen Highway
and along uh 1A their proximity to um downtown Boston but also to Boston Logan Airport. They have a really diverse clientele. Many commuters coming at different times, many airport workers coming at different times. So these
hours change would actually really help to serve uh the community as a whole. Number one. Uh number two, since uh opening there's been uh a lot of competition just where they're located from uh places like Rivier and other locations in East Boston uh that have uh
later hours currently. uh and this would also help bring in uh additional revenue for them. Um and to meet uh some of those competitors as well. Um but also you know obviously with that competition after the pandemic um just uh bringing
in new business has always been uh uh positive for them but also uh with the competition that gets a little more competitive. So, they would like the opportunity to have those those hours um and also to number one meet the needs of their existing clientele uh that are
driving by that that highly trafficked area uh on 1A. Uh this is the only location uh in the East Boston area that has direct parking um on site. Um so there's plenty of of area to house uh as new clients come in and park. It's
discreet. Um it's well lit uh right off of 1A. Um they've also been very active in the community and that was evident um in the different organization they've sponsored but also from the Orian Heights Civic Association that supported
these change of hours uh unanimously um at its last month's meeting. We also had a very productive AB butter meeting. Um, so no concerns uh with with the changes of hours at all uh on the site. Um, and
with that uh that that really is it. We can pause to answer any questions uh that the board may have. >> All right. Thank you. Now we will move on to questions from the board members starting with Chairwoman Joyce. >> Uh thank you for that explanation. I might have questions after public
testimony but right now I don't have any questions. >> Okay. Uh, Commissioner Holmes, do you have any questions? >> Uh, no, sir. I'm good. I don't have any questions. Thank you. >> Okay. Uh, Commissioner Sodto. >> No questions.
>> Uh, Commissioner Gandhi. >> Uh, no questions, but I'd like to make sure and ask a clarifying question. Uh we had a an an applicant in our previous meeting uh about extending their hours and I want to be sure that this does not this request is not inconsistent with
the current um current hours for existing marijuana locations. I believe that's true, but I just want to confirm um confirm with the staff here. Um, >> in other words, I don't want to set a precedent for um for an hour a location
that's open longer than existing locations are allowed to open. >> Um, Commissioner Smith, >> uh, no questions, Luke. Thank you. >> Okay. And, uh, Commissioner Kendler. >> Yeah, thank you. Um, how many current
employees do you have there? Currently, we I believe it's uh between the the retail staff and we have a distribution staff here as well. I think we're at 19 employees. >> And how many additional positions do you
envision this would be able to create if you're able to have those two extra hours of opening? >> Yes, >> it will create three more full-time positions. >> And has there been any uh engagement with your staff that you're like trying to extend these hours? Do you have a
sense how many of your employees would be willing to work until 11 p.m.? >> Uh, yeah, we have the proper leadership coverage to handle the additional shifts. We will have to obviously go to market through human resources outreach to hire additional uh staff to be able
to be open this many days, you know, seven days a week. Right now, we have the ability to open for three days a week as soon as we have this. And then we'll have to um hire additional people like I discussed um to be open seven days a week at this at these hours. Our staff is aware of the fact that we're pursuing this. Obviously, they know
what's best for the business. So, they're anxiously awaiting for this opportunity. They do believe that it will be uh a significant boost to uh our revenues um based on the feedback they've already heard from customers and patients that have been coming for years that it's hard to get here by 9:00. They
work in the services industry, food and beverage, hospitality, their shifts, a lot of them end and they need to get here between 10:00 and 11:00. Um actually, you know, a lot of them want even wanted us to be open and trying to request till midnight. Um but yes, it's uh they're aware and everyone's waiting for a decision today.
>> Okay. But you haven't gotten a sense that any of your employees are worried that they would be or they they wouldn't have the willingness to work until 11 p.m. Most of them who have heard the plans are willing to have the some adjustment to their schedule in order to make it work better. >> Yes, they are. They're aware of the and they're willing to work the hours.
>> All right. No further questions. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you. Um we will move on to public testimony starting with elected officials or their representatives. >> Oh sh but so it's private but
>> okay um any public testim or any uh elected officials to give testimony >> on this matter? >> Hi Madam Chair, members of the board. My name is Eva Jones representing the mayor's office of neighborhood services regarding 220 MLEN Highway. Our office
defers to the board's judgment on this matter. A community process was conducted including an abutters meeting held on Monday, June 16th. It was not attended by any community members. The proposal was also reviewed and has been in active communication with the Orian Heights Neighborhood Council. At this time, the mayor's office of neighborhood
services defers to the board's judgment on this proposal. Thank you everyone for your time and consideration. Okay, thank you. Um, and seeing no additional testimony, the board will take this matter under advisement. Okay, we will now move on to our new
license applications. The first matter we have, the applicant is Legal Greens Boston LLC doing business as Legal Greens. The proposed license premise is 571B Washington Street in Dorchester. This is for a marijuana retailer license. The proposed hours of operation
are 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. 7 days a week. This is an equity applicant. They filed their application on June 24th, 2025, and they filed with inspectional services on September 19th, 2024, and they held their community meeting on July 30th, 2025.
This applicant has been approved by the BCB for delivery career and delivery operator license. And before we begin the presentation, I will ask Akquila Armstrong, who is the cannabis equity program manager for OEEI to read the equity certification.
>> Thank you, Luke. Good afternoon, everyone. Our office was able to certify Legal Greens Boston doing business as legal greens as an equity applicant through the documentation submitted by the applicant, Vanessa Gene Baptist. Miss Gene Baptist is the president, CEO,
and 51% beneficial interest holder of Legal Greens, meeting the 51% interest threshold set forth in the ordinance. Miss Gene Baptist meets the following criteria. One, a person who has resided in the area of disproportionate impact as defined by the Cannabis Control
Commission for at least five of the past 10 years. Miss Gene Baptist has submitted bank statements establishing Bosset residency from 2014 to present as well as residency in Brockton and Randolph and both Brockton and Randolph have been designated as areas of disproportionate impact per CCC
guidelines. Number two, she is a person a person who is of black, African-American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian or indigenous descent. Miss Gene Baptist has self-identified as black and of Haitian descent and has provided her driver's license and birth certificate.
Number three, a person whose annual household income is at or below 100% of the area immediate income. Miss Gene Baptist submitted a notorized letter from her CPA confirming her household income as she has not filed her taxes. The letter confirms her household income
is below 100% of the area median income for Brockton. Are there any questions about the certification? Right. Thank you, Akila. We will now move on to the presentation. Who is present on behalf of the licences?
>> Tito Jackson. Um, and we also have the the legal greens uh team. I want to thank uh Madame Chair as well as this August board uh for the opportunity to be before you again. Um you will be uh
very familiar with what you have seen uh what what you will see today because uh this um location is actually uh the same uh location uh that had been previously approved as a um actual dispensary and
um thankfully uh you approved uh as a um a site for uh for delivery. Um, I will note um we did have uh prior conversations with the community and um let them know that we uh were open to um
this opportunity of uh reopening a dispensary in the the site that a dispensary had previously been operating um in for several years. Um we have received um overwhelming community support uh support from uh elected
official uh the the local elected official as well as um uh at large uh officials um and many people uh from the community who literally on a day-to-day basis um come by the site and actually ask for um a dispensary to be uh
present. Um, so, um, you know, I'm really lucky and, um, honored to be working with the Legal Greens team, um, to, uh, get this, uh, up and running. Um, so I will hand this over, uh, to Mark and Vanessa.
>> Thank you, Tito. Okay, go ahead. We'll get the um, presentation. Um, I want to say hi to the Boston Cannabis Board. Thank you for having us today. Um, Vanessa's getting the presentation
ready. Um, so, uh, again, like Tito said, you heard from us, um, last presentation, and it's somewhat similar. Um, we're just adding the retail component to, uh, the project at 571B
Washington Street. Um again the the team consists of Vanessa I. Kurt and uh Mike that is um operating it. Vanessa is CEO. I'm the COO and we go to the next slide. Kurt will be handling community stuff
and Mike is our attorney. Uh diversity diversity and inclusion plan. Um we plan on hiring staff from the Dorchester area. Um currently we're with the same steps that we're doing right now in Brockton. Um looking to hire minorities,
looking to order product from minority um suppliers um providing technical assistance to startups and um just making sure that our mentorship participants and testimonials for workshop attendees and equity
participants are satisfied. Um, our location at 571B Washington Street is not within 500 ft of um, a school, no buffer zone conflicts, and it's a commercially uh, dense area with um, a lot of residents. Again, it's already
been a dispensary, so we would just come in and just add our operation components to it and operate it just like it's been. Um for transportation and parking there's uh public parking um community parking literally right around the
corner. Um we have access to um Shyama stations right up the street. Um the buses go up and down um Washington Street and yeah we plan on hiring locally so a lot of walkers and people
from the area that could ride or take the bike over to the store. um employment plan, uh 12 residents from Boston, um at least five women, uh competitive wages, and we plan on hiring
individuals with um criminal records that are accepted by the Cannabis Control Commission. um continued employment plan. Um we plan on starting, you know, managers 18 plus, receptionists start at 16, budenders
will start at 17. Um 40 hours paid time off every year after you start after you've done a year with us. We plan on posting things um on the Boston Globe Dorchester Reporter. um staying in contact with the Codman Square
Neighborhood Council to, you know, um let them know when we're hiring and keep them engaged in the whole process. Um that's it for that. See, um like Tito said, community support, um state representatives
Russell Holmes, um city councelor Brian Royale, um we have a few other um uh counselors that um wrote letters of support for us as well. um non-oposition from the Codman Square Neighborhood Council um and letters of
support from local residents and businesses. Um our building security plan, we plan on having 24 cameras. We already had the camera guys come in and uh check it out and give us quotes for for all that stuff. So, um with battery
backup generator, no blind spots. Um, and when we're getting product, we plan on have, well, we are going to have like everything within the CCC regulations. Whatever drivers are going to come and and deliver to us, all that's going to
be, um, licensed by the cannabis control commission. Same thing with the cash transport. Um, any incidents that happen, um, we will report it to law enforcement and the CCC. Um, for on-site security, we have panic buttons at the
registers. um and which would uh allow um remote monitoring and ensures rapid response if there were to be an issue. Um youth access prevention uh we when a customer comes to the store, they'll have to ring the bell, present their ID
at the camera before entry. Then our security personnel would unlock the front door and after the ID is shown we would scan the ID verify that the person is 21 and um only valid IDs are allowed access to the sales floor. Fake or
individual um invalid IDs um result in confiscation and police notification. ID would be again shown at point of sale when the actual product is being sold to confirm the legal age and that the
person that is purchasing is on the ID. And we've been doing this out of Brockton for four years. Um we've had no issues, knock on wood, and we plan to continue um our success story in Codman Square. Any questions?
>> All right, thank you. We will now move on to questions and comments from the commissioners, beginning with Chairwoman Joyce. >> Thank you very much. This is just um a technical thing. I don't know who signed the Oh, Vanessa. Um the buffer
zone attestation. So the delivery courier license and the delivery operator licenses are are their own licenses. So technically this is a buffer zone conflict with your own established your own licenses. So I'd like you to reubmit the buffer zone
attestation saying that there is a buffer zone conflict. Um those things can be overcome with explanations um you know and I'm sure we'll we'll get to that um just by the fact that it's your own place. Um but you do have a buffer
zone conflict. So, I would just like to have the record reflect um reflect that. >> Okay. >> Okay. Thank you. Wasn't thought it was retail to retail. Sorry. >> No, each each license. Um Okay. I might
have questions after public testimony, but right now I don't. >> Thank you. Okay. Uh Commissioner Holmes. >> Okay. A couple of questions. Um, did you all inherit this? I I know this was a previous location that we
licensed. So, did you inherit the inside of the store? I mean, did they leave all the stuff? Like, did you have to put up the new cameras? Did you have to buy all the new displays or did they did you take this over as is and now you're just
putting your touches on it? >> No. So, we we're definitely have to add new cameras. the holes are there like the where where the cameras and the wires all the wires are still there but we do have to install our own cameras which we would we would have done anyway just to make sure it's you know the same
company that we're using and as as far as um the countertop um no that was taken as well but we already built our our our own so >> and now as far as the fact that last I think it was last month right you all got the courier and delivery license right
>> yes >> so Is the staff that you have for the curry and delivery license, are they going to be separate from the staff you're going to be using now for retail? >> Correct. >> Okay. So, how many people did you hire for the courier and and delivery?
>> 12. >> 12. >> And so, you're going to add >> 12 more. >> Yep. >> And 12 more. Okay. Okay. All right. And out of the 12 more that you're adding, is somebody or at least two people going to be designated security only, not
doing budending and doors and licenses? >> Correct. Right. They're going to be security personnel at the reception area. >> Okay. And what about >> what about out front? >> Um not standing up >> just at the door, right? So when you bring your bell
>> Yes. Okay. And they'll be the first person that whoever the customer they'll be the first person that the customer sees. >> Sees. Yes. >> Would be the security person who looks at his idea or whatever. Then they move on through to the next. >> Correct.
>> Okay. Thank you. That's the only questions I had. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Right. Uh Commissioner Sodto. >> Thanks, Luke. Um, I guess I just want to comment on the um what I was reading through as far as the
um letters of support. Um, and uh just and just one point of information and maybe just in the files, but I didn't see the letter from uh Rep. Holmes. Um, so I don't know if it it got in the mix
and maybe the Warell one got doubled or something, but just just flagging for either our team or to request it from from the other side. Um, in terms of the community and the aspect, how how do you see the retail aspect
sort of being incorporated within the fabric of the the business community there and the surrounding community? Um, I think it it'll it'll be just fine. Um, there was a dispensary there um prior
and um, for example, we're located right next to the liquor store which have told us plenty of times that their business has gone down since the dispensary has not been there. So, they're asking us every day when when we're going to open up. And there's a lot of other, you
know, people from businesses from the community asking when we're we're going to open up. So, um, I think everything's going to work out great and, you know, we're coming here to succeed. >> Yeah. Commissioner Sto, um, as noted,
um, there's a noticeable gap, um, now that the dispensary is is no longer there. um it was a destination and frankly was you know pretty successful in terms of the foot traffic um there um and uh frankly the other objective is to
not have empty storefronts um which you you and I both know uh lead to a whole host of other things that kind of uh go on um and as these uh these folks have actually purchased the building um there's also an interest in ensuring um that the the building uh becomes cash
flow uh positive relative to the financial commitments that are related uh to it. Um but I I will note um literally on a day-to-day basis as work is being done there are people who are coming and wanting to make uh a a
purchase there. Um in addition I would note that this also means um people could be going to other places and and other um aspects of the uh economy relative to cannabis. Um so there is a
component here. Um we're having a legal uh licensed cannabis uh dispensary um is also uh displacement of some of the other um avenues that people may go to to get um cannabis.
>> All right. Thank you very much. No other questions. >> Okay. Uh Commissioner Gandhi, >> thank you. Um my question is about parking so and transportation. uh you mentioned 12 existing employees,
12 new employees and then the customers. I know that there was some material about uh bus routes etc in your presentation but what is your plan for employee parking um and if there is any that's going to be provided and then how do you how do you ensure that there isn't any congestion on the site um with
the customers and where will the customers be expected to park? >> Um there's there's parking. So there's um Walgreens is actually about to shut down. We heard about that in um in September. So that parking lot that's like in between Walgreens and where we
are at 571B Washington Street um will allow us to have um parking there. But again, we're hiring people within the neighborhood walking distance. And then there's side streets that do have available parking that I've seen during the the working hours as well um from
just being there. Um there's no like personal parking um because the the back is an easement between both parties and they have deliveries um liquor deliveries that's happening there as well. So and we would be having deliveries. So, we can't guarantee that
back parking for employees, but there's definitely um surrounding areas and we'll we'll we'll take care of that when like we're hiring and um make sure people are living close and you know, just taking
all those things into account to make sure that we're not congesting the area more than it already is. Thank you. And customer parking would be where? >> So, there's a public parking right right next door to us. And we're in and out.
So, our transactions, if somebody places an online order, they could be out of they could pull in and be out of the store in 120 seconds. Literally 2 minutes. >> All right. Thank you. And that's public parking. It's not a privately owned lot. >> Yeah, it's public. It's not private.
Yep. Okay. Uh, Commissioner Smith. >> Yes. So, sorry. Just um, thank you all for your presentation. I actually don't have any questions. I live very near that area, so I know it well. The public parking is used by the grocery store
across the street, all the residents, um, the liquor store, and I know that the Walgreens is closing. Sometimes though in the parking lot there's a lot of different people hanging out. So how are you guys
thinking about that in terms of control? >> Um it can get busy. I know. >> Yeah. And commissioner um we have the same uh concerns that you would have um one as a as a resident also as a commissioner. Um the objective is to
make sure that customers are unimpeded um and safe um in their uh entry in and out. Um our security guards um will be doing um we we have multiple. So there's obviously the person at the desk and in addition another security guard um who
will be mobile um who will um you know be doing sweeps on a regular basis. one for trash um just to make sure that uh clean cleanliness is is upheld but also to make sure that people are unimpeded in their ability to go um to and from um
the the uh dispensary and back to back to their vehicles. Um, so that is, um, a shared concern of both of ours, um, in terms of, uh, ability for our customers to be able to have free movement. Um, and in particular, um, in the the nighttime hours, um, if individuals do
want a a walk to their car, u, we're more than willing, um, to extend that. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> And we also invite all of the commissioners um, uh, uh, to come um, at at some point.
Okay. Uh, Commissioner Kensler. >> Yeah. Uh, so my main question was, uh, the one that Commissioner Holmes asked. Um, I was a little worried. I thought you were going to have the same 12 people be doing both jobs. So, I appreciate that this is, uh, creating 12 additional jobs.
um in the in the hearing back in June when you were applying for the delivery license, you I mean you had been open with the fact that you would be applying for a a retail license eventually. I guess the impression I had from it was that there would be a little bit more
time between. So, I was just curious if there was something that happened between then that kind of sped up this process or if the plan was try to to try to apply for both of these licenses separately but to secure them both before you actually open the storefront. >> Um, no. What actually happened was after
the community meeting that we had with the neighborhood council, they expressed that they wanted retail as well. um the in the community while being there having access to the property. Everybody kept, you know, knocking and like trying to come in and we're like, "No, we're
going to do a delivery." And then it was like, "Well, what about coming in?" And then we're like, "Well, we're we're looking into that, but we didn't have a solid answer for them until we actually have to go through the process and see what happens." So, that's that's how we ended up there. It's just really the the
community and um what we've heard from outreach Okay. So, that that leads into my next question nicely. Um, have you run into any of these um like elected officials or community groups who were supportive
of the delivery license that are not supportive of retail or less enthusiastic in their support than they were for delivery? >> None. >> Okay. And then finally, um, you know, we talked a lot in the the June meeting about the the logistics of the delivery
in terms of, um, you know, using the driveway in the back and having some of the orders secured the day before with the deliveries to go out the following morning. Do you envision that having the the retail space open for walk-in will change any of the logistics for
delivery, or do you think you can still run that as you had originally expected? >> Same. Same. It would not change anything. It would just not give people options to either come in or do deliver. >> That's all I got. Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Okay. Any additional questions or comments from the board members? >> Uh yeah, just um couple things I was just thinking of uh in response to some of the other commissioners comments. Um, one thing to consider if you if you haven't already, I'm just wondering if
um there could be an added incentive for employees if they were offered some discount on tea passes um as a way to encourage folks to take public transportation if they're living close enough rather than um taking a parking space away from a a potential customer.
Um and then the the other piece was on Commissioner Smith's comments. um you know I I imagine if you haven't already that you know in your um kind of like security planning overall but um if the lights over in that parking lot are dim
or if there are any other sort of issues you know that would require um something some level of engagement for from the city I would I would certainly encourage that if if there are elements that are not supportive of you safety for the
general community in a in a parking lot. Um but the the other piece I was going to recommend is in addition to the kind of um rounding by by security I think if there are cons you know persistent issues you know as as the landlord and and as the
folks there I would I would also highly recommend you know calling 311 in order to have a regular sort of um you know cuz if it is a if it is a persistent problem right you know if it's a one-off thing and someone says, "Hey, bro, like,
you know, we're trying to let our customers get to the thing." Like, that's that's that's that's another thing, right? But if it does become a persistent, you know, issue, I think notifying 311 and then create sort of a if it is a pattern, it'll show up in that way and then you could have a um a
more kind of impactful conversation on it. So, those are just the two things um based on some of the things I heard from the other commissioners. Thanks, Luke. >> Thank you so much, Commissioner Sodto. And uh we we uh will continue to stay um in contact with the district counselor
uh which we we've been in constant uh contact with. Um and um uh you know this organization has been uh on the ground um in in immersed in community activities also not only on on their business activities but really um you
know willing to roll their sleeves up in in the community and we'll stay that way. Um so we will definitely continue to have that. I will also just note um there is somewhat of a displacement component when there's a lot a couple hundred people going to a place um a day that actually sometimes and and what
we've seen data wise uh typically there's a decrease in crime around dispensaries um just uh because we actually have pretty nice cameras um and uh there's a lot of a lot of uh folks in areas. Um so once that stream u comes back um we do believe that um we
actually uh will will things can continue to progress in a positive way but we will definitely continue to stay uh engaged with the municipal um and state officials in in the area. We really appreciate that. Okay. Uh any other comments from the board?
All right. Seeing none, we will move on to public testimony beginning with elected officials or their representatives. Yes, madam chair, members of the board, Connor Newman with the mayor's office of neighborhood services. This time the mayor's office was deferred to the judge of this board. Some background information the community process. So for this
particular license, uh we had done a a butters meeting on July 30th. It was well attended. Uh overwhelmingly those that were in attendance were supportive of this proposal. Uh we also received uh several letters in support as well. Um they re-engaged with the Codman Square
Civic Association which I understand is supportive of this license uh being sought by the applicant. Uh we're also in contact the local city council's office. Uh with that refer to the board. Thank you. >> Okay. Uh Timothy, I see you have your hand risen.
>> Hi. Thank you. Uh thank you Madam Chair, members of the commission. Uh Timothy Geon from District 4 city councelor Brian Warell's office. I just want to first thank uh Vanessa and Mark as well as uh Repito Jackson uh former counselor
for all of your uh active support um and constant communication with us. Um this uh application uh applicant they have uh followed up with all the uh requisite uh neighborhood associations starting with Melville Park uh as well as the Common
Square uh neighborhood council. uh they have continued to follow their commitment to uh equity, safety, uh and an entrepreneurial spirit. Uh with that being said, the counselor wants to go ahead and share his support. Um and
thank you all very much for your time. >> All right. Thank you. Any other elected officials or the representatives? >> Okay, moving on to public testimony. Uh, is Franta Simeon O'Hiri present? >> Yes, I'm here.
>> Uh, okay. You have two minutes to give your testimony. >> Okay. Um, yeah. Awesome. I think that this is a great idea. Um, just from living in the community and um, knowing that um, they work really hard to want to give back to the community, I think
it's like a really positive thing. Um, I currently do not smoke weed, but um, um, I used to and I used to have to drive all the way to Brockton. And so I have a lot of friends that do continue to smoke weed. And so when I told them that, you know, that it was becoming closer to
Boston, um, and that they were doing the delivery service, um, they were really excited about it because, you know, driving all the way to Boston just to get, um, you know, good quality, um, it's a lot. Um, so I'm excited to hear now because this is news to me now that they are actually opening up like the
retail um store inside. So I think that that's really great um for the community and I think that you know they're really great people and I feel like it'd be just a really good addition um to you know what they're trying to do. >> Okay. Thank you. Now would anyone else
like to provide testimony on this matter? >> Okay. With that, the board will take this matter under advisement and we will move on to the next matter. The this item was deferred at the BCB's May 28th, 2025 voting hearing. The applicant has requested an opportunity
to present further information to the board and will be given five minutes to present followed by questions and comments from the board. And again, no additional testimony will be heard on this matter following questions and comments from the board. The applicant is Zenith United LLC. The proposed
license premise is 417 to 421 Hide Park A in Roslandale. This is a marijuana retail license. The proposed hours of operation are Monday to Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. This is an equity applicant. They filed their application
on September 12th, 2023. They filed with inspectional services on April 30th, 2024, and they held their community meeting on January 29th, 2025. There is a buffer zone conflict with another establishment. Who is present on behalf of the lency?
>> Um, >> I Okay, sorry. You're on mute. >> Can I share my screen? >> Uh, yes. Okay. Can you see the presentation? >> Yeah. >> Um, so I want to thank the board for
having us back today to address some of the concerns that were raised after our last presentation. And I know that we don't have a lot of time to to speak. So I'll get straight into it and I hope that um we can have some questions and dialogue afterwards to go over any outstanding topics. Um but we wanted to
begin by addressing the the overall concern that we understood from the board in their in their meeting that this was somewhat of a more aspirational plan than something that uh we were able to convey to the board to to believe that this was something that could be
brought to fruition. So, we wanted to give some more background information on our what we believe is our capability as well as how we see our um team and and group and proposal as a as a perfect um mold to to meet what the uh the board is
looking for when vetting these applications. And so, the initial point that I want to make is the foundation of this business is is two local owners and and Kayla and Manny. They they started our team. um and they're from the Roslandale area. They've grown up there,
gone to school there, their family there. Um and they are also social equity um applicants. And so we think that right there we have two pieces of criteria that um very much fit what the board is is looking for. And um thereafter uh Kayla and Manny took a I
believe it was a very prudent and professional decision to seek out assistance and build a team um to fill in the gaps where they may have had lacks in in their experience or abilities in operating this type of a business. And so the first thing they did is they um they brought on our team
member Sean Coleman who's um not able to be here today. Um but Sean is a practicing cannabis attorney and has been uh doing so since 2018. Um Sean is also a technical assistance provider and he's contracted by the state and the city separately to provide technical
assistance to cannabis applicants and cannabis operators. And so he's obviously held at a at a high regard as it pertains to his cannabis knowledge and knowhow. And I think that was a great step for Manny and Kayla to seek out his assistance as they were building
up this proposal and their their plan to go after this endeavor. Um what then occurred was uh Sean introduced me to the group. Um Sean and I had worked together in the past and um Kayla and Manny were looking for some more operational experience to add to their
team. Um and some some more information about myself. I don't know that I gave a lot last time and I I don't intend to sit here and um toot my own horn. I I don't like to do that. But I think that it's important that the board understand the experience of our team. And so, um, I've been operating in the cannabis
industry since 2015. I moved out to Seattle, Washington when I finished college, um, and got into the industry in 2015 and then moved out to, uh, Massachusetts in 2018 uh, with a partner uh, with the intention of opening cannabis dispensaries. Um, in 2020, I
opened two cannabis dispensaries. I served as the general manager of each of those. I wrote the SOPs. I built out the dispensary, hired the staff. I wore every hat. Um, as it pertains to the operations of the dispensaries, we had over 50 employees. Um, and we we did
well over 10 million in annual revenue um and operated profitable um dispensaries. I've also assisted in the licensing and operations of seven other um licensed operations in Massachusetts as a consultant um and similarly here
and and coming on to serve as a managerial um operational role. And so I think that what that has done is really created this this team that has a lot of capability but also has local roots, social equity component. And I think
from all of our experience combined and the passion of Kayla and Manny to open and build a business in their community really does create this perfect mold for what I think that the um commission or rather the board is is looking for. And so again, I I don't know that we have
enough time to to go into everything that we wanted to go into today. Um but I I hope that there can be some more questions to potentially go over why we believe um Zenith is is well positioned, is not going to be one of these applicants that is potentially destined
to fail. and and we certainly understand that the board doesn't want to set anyone up for failure, but we believe that our past experiences um really have allowed us to to develop a roadmap for Zenith to be cognizant and aware of the things that they have in front of them and to build out a budget um and you
know, monthly costs that are manageable to deal with potential delays that could occur and we know will occur um from experiencing this process in the past and other establishments that I've worked with. Um, lastly, again, I'm sure I'm right at about five minutes. We also
heard the concern of the board that there were, uh, you know, questions about our security plan. And so, we went out and we brought on a security liaison and Santos Perez Jr., who I believe is here today, um, will be available for questions. and uh he's a retired Boston
police officer who actually worked in the Hyde Park area that's reviewed our security plan and we're going to continue working with him as it pertains to our security procedures to ensure that we have a third party with uh great experience in this area um that we can
uh work with and ensure that we're paying attention to the to the right things. Um the last piece was the the buffer zone conflict. I assume I'm at five minutes, but could I >> uh Yeah, you you can finish up. So there's there's a lot of things that I would like to say about the buffer
zone um conflict and I think what I I hope I've gotten across in this short dialogue is I believe that the buffer zone reduction was created for specific circumstances and I think that the totality of what we are offering here with the local ownership, the social
equity component and the experienced operators being a part of this team creates this environment and having found a location that can be very difficult to find a location that is affordable with a landlord that isn't raking you over the coals with their terms and is working through uh through
this process with you um to help mitigate your overhead costs. To find a location like that on a busy road with parking and the floor plan is manageable to build it out and not at ridiculous cost. It's a diamond in the rough and
it's really hard to find and we hope that that can be considered by the board that um we believe this is why the buffer zone reduction is an option for for circumstances like this. So, thank you for the time again and uh we would like to answer any questions you would have.
>> Okay. Thank you. Um now we will move on to the questions from the board members starting with Chairwoman Joyce. >> Uh thank you uh Luke. I am going to defer my questions and till after the other commissioners have a chance to ask questions.
>> Okay. Uh Commissioner Holmes. >> Well, I was the hold out with the security uh plan for the last meeting. So, I'm happy to see that um the two owners took the advice of the collective board and actually reached out and got a little bit more guidance. So for that, I
am appreciative and I thank you guys for listening to us and and really buffering up your presentation and getting the stuff that we need to help you move forward. So with that being said, um you've satisfied my um requirements, so
I don't have any further questions. >> Thank you. >> Uh Commissioner Sodto, >> thanks Luke. Um I believe and um please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe I I um have to recuse myself from from
this one given that I was not present at the original presentation but certainly that that was my previous understanding but if that is incorrect um >> then let me know otherwise I'm I'm going
to abstain. Yeah, I don't recall you being here, but nice to meet you, >> Commissioner Gandhi. >> No questions. Thank you. >> Uh, Commissioner Smith. >> Thank you, Luke. Um, I looked back at
your employment plan. There were a lot of percentages. Remind me again how many people you were going to hire. Sorry, were you done with the question? >> Yeah. Can you remind me again how many people you were going to hire and like full-time, part-time? I see a lot of percentages. Achieve 50% of this,
achieve 70% 75% of this. >> Yes. >> Just remind me of the numbers. I can't. >> Yeah, I think that our our ballpark would be around 12 employees. And I think that this is at the beginning. Um, and I think what we would like to see is
around seven of those, six to seven being full-time and and the remainder being part-time and then gauging um our volume from there and adding or removing as needed. >> So, six or seven full-time and the rest is part-time. >> Correct.
>> Okay. Um, you're going to require your hiring managers, who are you hiring folks to do DEI training? Yep. um to begin. >> How many managers are you bringing on? >> Uh sorry, can you repeat the last part of that?
>> How many managers are you bringing on? >> So Kayla and Manny are actually going to serve as the the managers, which I think is great to have um ownership uh leading the way. So they'll be handling the initial uh hiring and the intention will be that they will be the managers um for
the foreseeable future um and will be looking to u promote from within the from the initial batch of um employees that we bring on. >> Are they managers who are going to be on site working there or they're just doing all the hiring and
>> No, they they'll be on site. Uh they'll be walking the walk every day. Okay. other benefits you have for your folks. >> Yeah. Um we're I think last time uh there was the question about the uh the bus pass. Um >> yeah,
>> I think that's a really good idea. It wasn't something that we had thought of. Um but I think that that is a great idea. We do have quite a bit of parking. Um but I just think that that's a nice, you know, it's relatively low cost and it's something that can really help out um the staff. And so we talked about
that. We've also talked about vacation time similar as um I saw in the last presentation. They talked about giving 40 hours of vacation time per year and then that would be in addition to the um earned time that they get from the state
for um sick leave as well. Um as there will be employee discounts um and uh I think that there's a variety of other things that we plan to to offer. And just last question, you talked about in your presentation
um about is Zenit a poor candidate for a buffer zone. >> So we understand the lack of viable alternative locations. Do you have to be in Rosland? Well, I think and I I can't speak for
Manny and Kayla, but knowing them, I know that they want to build something in this community, and I I actually didn't understand that they weren't able to have public comment, but I know that they have multiple people that have actually attended this call to to voice
their um their support for this uh this dispensary. To Kayla and Manny, this is more than just opening a dispensary. It's opening a dispensary in the area that they grew up in, live in, work in, where their friends and family are. And we we cleared this up last time. The
school across the street is moving. It's going away. But that's where Manny went to school. So, it's very much in their neck of the woods. And and that's part of the reason why I I really hope the board can be considerate of that along with our ex uh experience and ability to
bring this um proposal to fruition, but also the local roots of it and and how that really fits with what I think is the mission of the board um to uh you know prop up people from this community that want to take part and have been prudent and have been patient and are
dedicated and and really want to to do something in their own community for a long time. >> Thank you. >> Luke, can I add something? Just >> uh Yeah. >> Just to um the the security
presentation, would it be possible and not too much? I mean, I don't really want to throw a whole another set of work on you, but is it possible for you guys to now put together a more robust and complete security plan now that you've hired a consultant as opposed to
what you presented us the first time? >> Um, yeah, I think that we provided you with our security SOP, which is what we would provide to the Cannabis Control Commission. >> You put a new one in this with this presentation? >> Um, I don't know if it's new. I I think
that that's what we have provided. But an additional um package that we could provide is when the uh when you go through the architectural review phase with the CCC, they ask for like locations of cameras, locations of all the security equipment. Um, so I think
we could put that together in tandem with our s our security SOP and it it really should detail everything that we are going to be doing as it pertains to like entrance access um the security alarm system, the backup system, the generators,
um you know the exterior lighting like I I think it touches on everything. So certainly if there's anything that's missing we can provide it but maybe some um schematical plans like the one >> not even I mean not even that technical just to update what what the dayto-day
security plans are from the minute a customer comes to the door you know what we do what our security person is going to do um how are they trained you know where who are they so ju I mean even if you just updated the old one with just some you know pinpoint information it
would be fine. >> Okay. Um, yeah, we can certainly consider >> because that for me that was the problem that there really wasn't a detailed plan for security on a day-to-day basis. I know what CCC says and it's very easy to
just pull that out and just paste it and you know save. But what what are your people going to be doing on a daily basis? Yeah, I I think we can find a way to >> Nothing elaborate, just, you know, s simple layman's terms. >> Got it.
>> Thank you. >> Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. >> Okay. Uh, Commissioner Kensler, >> um, I'm not sure if this was part of uh, Commissioner Smith's uh, question, so forgive me if I missed it. Um, but you said so you have the plan is for 12
employees. Do you know what the the part-time full-time split of that would be? >> Yeah, I'd like to see seven six to seven full-time and then the remainder being part-time. And what we've found success with in the past is then adding on
additional part-time to have um flexibility and and scheduling. Um and so probably adding more part-time before we were before we would add more um full-time. But if volume increases, then we we could add additional full-time.
But the goal would be to first add additional part-time for flexibility. >> And then for the uh like paid time off and vacation time, would that be something that would be available only to the the full-time employees or do you envision it having some availability for part-time employees as well?
>> I would envision it having um availability for part-time employees. I I there may be a cut off if someone is really just working very minimal hours, but I would expect our part-times to be between 20 and 30 hours per week. And I
I think if you fall in there, you definitely would be um receiving some benefits. Maybe not all the benefits that the full-time are. Um but certainly some like paid time off and things like that. Still earning that. >> All right, I'm all set. >> Thank you.
Um, any other additional questions from the board members? >> Okay. >> Uh, Jack, if you could just unshare your screen, that'd be >> And just quickly, is there any opportunity for members of the public to speak on this or is that not an option?
>> Uh, not today. that was um they were given the opportunity in May to do that. >> Yeah, we didn't understand that that wouldn't be provided today. Would there be any possibility to send in additional letters? Uh just comment from
>> uh yes, the um uh it'll be open until Tuesday or next Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. >> I think we received another u letter from a community organization that we had been working with. Um, and if it's allowable, I I think we could also just provide some of the testimony that the
public was looking to provide today, but we we didn't know that they couldn't uh speak today, so that's on us. >> All right. Um, the board will take this matter under advisement. And those were all the transactional matters before the board today. The board's voting meeting
will take place next Wednesday, August 20th, at 1 p.m. Again, the record will be kept open until next Tuesday, August 19th, at 5:00 p.m. And that concludes this hearing. And everyone, have a good afternoon.