A proposal to allow retail cannabis shops to open in more parts of Providence has business owners split over whether they’d welcome those businesses in their neighborhoods.
Dispensaries are currently only allowed to open in a specific industrial zone in Providence, mainly because of the size of the space needed to grow cannabis.
But with the zoning ordinance introduced by Providence City Council President Rachel Miller and Councilor Miguel Sanchez, retail dispensaries could open in downtown, heavy commercial and light industrial zones by right, as well as in general commercial zones with a special permit. Social-equity enterprises and worker cooperatives would be allowed by right in general commercial zones.
This means cannabis shops could open in many prominent commerce corridors, including Wayland Square, Federal Hill, Wickenden Street, Broad Street, Westminster Street, Elmwood Avenue, Gano Street, South Water Street and Hartford Avenue.
Rick Simone, president of the Federal Hill Commerce Association, says the businesses he’s heard from in the neighborhood don’t believe a dispensary would be a good fit for the area in part because potential smoking could hinder outdoor dining.
At the same time, he says, a cannabis shop might find it difficult to move in because of a lack of available space. Commercial space is about 95% occupied, Simone says.
Twenty-four retail licenses are due to be issued in Rhode Island, with half reserved for social-equity and worker co-ops, and spread evenly across six areas statewide.
Jessica Leach, owner of OPT LLC, which does business as Opt Eyewear Boutique in Wayland Square, says she doesn't think a cannabis dispensary would be a good fit in the square, an upscale shopping area, because she didn't see a need for it.
"I'd like businesses to come to areas that are going to stay in business," she said.
Leach also raised a question about the proximity to the Croft School, a private K-8 school with two locations on Wayland Avenue. The ordinance requires pot shops to be 500 feet away from schools, which would rule out large sections of the Wayland Square area.
In the Jewelry District, Sharon Steele, president of the Jewelry District Neighborhood Association, says those she has spoken to are opposed to the ordinance. She notes that the available commercial space in the district is on the ground floor of residential buildings.
Some Hope Street businesses are more supportive of the proposal.
“We should welcome as many and as big of a variety of businesses in the area,” said Kim Clark, owner of gift shop Rhody Craft LLC.
Asher Schofield, owner of Frog and Toad LLC, says it might be difficult to add a marijuana store to the Hope Street area because of on-site parking requirements. According to the proposed ordinance, a 3,000-square-foot business would need six parking spots, a social-equity or worker co-op would need three.
But Schofield says a cannabis shop wouldn’t be much different from the liquor stores in the area, and he jokes that it could improve the temperament of shoppers.
“It’s possible people will be a little more chill waiting in line for gift wrapping,” he said.
Allowing marijuana shops in more locations is an important equity issue, according to Andre Dev, an organizer of the co-op advocacy group Rhode Island Cooperative Cannabis Project. To apply for a retail license, people must secure a location, a tricky process in which wealthier owners may have an advantage, Dev says.
Robert Pena, a member of the PVD Flowers Cooperative, says business owners he has spoken to don’t have a specific preference of where to open a cannabis shop in the city. If PVD Flowers is awarded a license, Pena says, the cooperative aims to be a benefit to the area where it opens.
The ordinance has passed the City Plan Commission and now will go to the city’s Ordinance Committee before returning to the City Council for a vote.
(Updated to clarify comments from business owner Jessica Leach.)
This is not at all what I said. I did question the proximity to schools and I said I don’t think it would be a good fit. I said I’d like business to come to the area that are going to stay in business and I don’t see that happening with a dispensary. I also said I think the availability of affordable, organic produce and foods in neighborhoods is more of an issue than accessibility weed. And I never said anything about a Wayland Square being an “upscale corridor”. The reporting kept trying to bait me with questions like “Are you worried about the clientele?” to which I said no. But I guess that’s not as interesting and she didn’t get the snotty comments she wanted from me so she made them up. Great reporting!