Town of Dryden opts in, villages of Dryden and Freeville opt out of marijuana sales

Town of Dryden officials have decided to opt in on allowing marijuana-based dispensaries and on-site consumption establishments, while the villages of Dryden and Freeville have decided to opt out.

The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), brought forth by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this year, introduced a system for the state and municipalities to regulate the manufacturing of cannabis products, establish ways to tax sales and production and oversee the commercial sale of recreational marijuana through the New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM).

Municipalities can opt out of allowing the licensing of dispensaries, as well as on-site consumption establishments. If municipalities do not adhere to the Dec. 31 opt-out deadline, they will be automatically opted in to the marijuana-based market. If municipalities decide to opt out before the deadline, they can opt back in anytime in the future (for more information, see t.ly/9xxu).

Dan Lamb, Dryden deputy town supervisor, saw it as a benefit to the town’s community as a “sense of freedom” for the newly developed commercial businesses.

“We’re taking part in something that the [New York State] Legislature and the governor felt it was time to do in the state,” he said. “It lifts the taboo around recreational marijuana.”

Lamb sees it as a financial benefit for the town to opt in, noting the tax revenue that would be generated from marijuana-based retail businesses is “favorable towards municipalities.”

“There will be a 4% tax on marijuana sales in the state,” he said, adding the town could see $20,000 to $40,000 in revenue per year and the new revenue generator in the near future could reduce the tax burden for town residents.

The villages of Dryden and Freeville, however, want to see how the portions of the MRTA bill pan out across the state and locally.

The Dryden village’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to opt out, while Freeville’s Board of Trustees voted 4-1 in favor of prohibiting marijuana-based retail in its village.

“We want to wait and see what it’s going to be like,” Dryden Village Mayor Mike Murphy said. “If the village people would like for us to opt back in, we’ll consider having a dispensary or an establishment in the future.”

Freeville Mayor David Fogel said he was “on the fence” in regard to opting out, due to the new brand of business being a potential opportunity for sales tax revenue in the village.

“It could’ve conceivably been tens of thousands of dollars every year [for the village],” he added.

With Fogel weighing that thought with the “potential impact it would have on such a small village,” he decided to opt out.

“That was the safest course of action,” he said, noting the village is a community of just over 500 residents that include a small number of businesses. “Since Freeville is such a small municipality with very little commercial activity, allowing a business like that to open up in the village would be sort of an overly prominent commercial activity.”

Fogel did, however, note that there is a chance Freeville officials could “change [their] minds down the road.”

The population size of the village of Dryden also played into its Board of Trustees’ decision to opt out.

“It’s a small village,” Murphy said, who noted the village is 1.8 square miles in total with slightly over 2,000 residents. “Everybody finds the ‘new’ is hard to deal with. We don’t want to commit the village to it if we don’t know what it’s going to be.”

Murphy added the decision by Dryden village’s Board of Trustees is “more about community than revenue.”

“It’s the biggest concern, especially with the potential choice of lifestyle these types of businesses bring, but we’re unsure about the environment it creates around these businesses,” he said. “We believe the community is not ready to make that decision.”

Lamb noted that some municipalities “don’t understand [the timeline]” for the portions of the MRTA bill. He added that officials are “getting pressured to act immediately and prevent this sort of thing from occurring.”

“The lack of information for the timeline is a problem for municipalities because [these businesses] aren’t coming anytime soon,” Lamb said.

He added most municipalities believe dispensaries and on-site establishments begin in January, but, in reality, dispensaries and on-site establishments won’t arrive until at least 2023.

Lamb mentioned the licensing procedures to start a marijuana-based retail business have not been set up by the state yet.

“There are 11 different procedures for aspects of the [MRTA bill] and the economic opportunities it presents,” he said, which includes the processing, growing and more in terms of marijuana.

The commencement of these types of businesses gives the town of Dryden a year to set up zoning to “accommodate this new commerce,” Lamb said. He added that the rezoning is a benefit and a nod to the Dryden 2045 Comprehensive Plan, which Lamb mentioned could be completed by spring of next year.

“We can make sure any activity that is put in place in the town is appropriate,” he added.

Potential farmers who are looking to grow marijuana in the town can see the town’s action with the MRTA bill as an advantage, Lamb said.

“We’re an [agricultural] town with a lot of agricultural space,” he added. “This is an opportunity for people with farmland, and they could put it to good use.”

As the villages of Freeville and Dryden stand by their decisions to opt out, they also want to see some clarity from the state on the MRTA bill. Lamb mentioned that while “commerce activity” will take place in the town, the revenue “will not be shared” with other municipalities.

“There will be marijuana in the area, but what will the effect be if we put a store in [the village of Dryden]?” Murphy asked, as municipalities like the town of Dryden, city of Ithaca and the town of Newfield have decided to opt in. “It’s not like anyone will be deprived of it. It’s about the convenience of having it.”

Dryden Dispatch appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.