North Adams Sees First Signs Of Interest

As the city goes forward with working to pass the marijuana zoning regulations, it has already received interest from prospective businesses.

The Berkshire Eagle confirmed to that Mayor Thomas Bernard has spoken with two prospective marijuana businesses in recent weeks,

"We've had someone interested in doing some siting,"

Bernard declined to name the prospective businesses or their owners.

But Bernard did say:

"One of the interested businesses would be multipurpose, potentially including retail, while the other includes "cultivation as a possibility," .

The mayor credits the city's efforts to draft clear zoning guidelines as a reason for the interest.

Bernard said he was not surprised by the inquiries.

After taking office in January, Bernard quickly forged a timeline that would have the city establish zoning regulations before the state begins to accept applications for licenses from marijuana businesses.

Bernard assembled a marijuana zoning working group that drafted a proposed set of regulations last month.

The working group handed its proposal to the City Council, which has reviewed it in a Safety Committee meeting and will hold a joint public hearing with the Planning Board on Monday at 6 p.m. in City Council chambers in City Hall.

Without guidelines in place, the city would have little say in where prospective licensed marijuana businesses locate.