The Hamden Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday approved a special permit that will bring the town its first cannabis retail store.
The dispensary — proposed by Slap Ash Retail —will take over the land where Keating Bros. Automotive is currently located on the corner of Whitney Avenue and Washington Avenue, if negotiations between the two parties go as planned.
Tuesday’s meeting was the second of two meetings held regarding the proposal of the special permit. The initial meeting was held on Sept. 26.
The proposal’s delayed passage was spurred by residents’ worries that the highly-used Whitney Avenue location may cause increased traffic problems in town.
Keating Bros. Automotive on the corner of Whitney Avenue and Washington Avenue. Hamden’s proposed dispensary, which town officials approved on Oct. 10, is set to take its place.
“No matter what you put there, there is going to be traffic,” said Jean Viola, a Hamden resident. “I am not sure why there is such a big concern about this particular business. I frequently go to the one in Branford and there is never traffic, lots of parking.”
The proposal applicants originally included a traffic report, which was criticized for having taken place in June, a time when the majority of Quinnipiac University students were not on campus. At Tuesday’s meeting, an updated traffic report that officials had redone to factor in the higher volumes of traffic associated with the university’s academic year.
While traffic does significantly increase with the arrival of Quinnipiac students, Amanda Ostrowitz — owner of Slap Ash Retail’s parent company, Slap Consulting — said at the most recent meetings that other Connecticut dispensaries had not reported experiencing traffic issues.
Ostrowitz did not respond to HQNN’s request for comment.
Concerns about the height of the light poles, which residents were worried would shine too brightly onto the adjacent residential properties, were also a factor in the delay. The light poles were reduced down to 15 feet to combat the problem.
The commission passed the proposal on the condition that the new dispensary would not allow customers to queue — wait in line — at the location.
“I am fully in support of this business opening. They have done a really good job providing an updated traffic plan,” said Hamden resident Joel Whitten. “Other businesses in the area have queuing. Anything is better than an empty parking lot, we have too many of those around.”
It is unclear when construction on the property will start, or when the estimated date of opening will be.
2 replies on “Hamden approves special permit for first cannabis shop”
With all this town is facing, that is what we are concerned about..a weed stop for the town?
The owner of Keating was a lovely distinguished man and his daughter ran an incredible business into the ground. Her tax problems are hers not the town residents. She has to sell in order to pay her tax bill. Our town is in a free fall. This is disgraceful.
We need speed control on Washington Ave