RUTLAND, Vt. (WCAX) – Rutland city officials say they are in uncharted waters when it comes to the question of whether a local resident can grow retail cannabis out of his backyard.
“Actually it’s not really the city that’s my problem, it’s everybody around me,” said Frederick Watkins, who runs a construction company out of his home on East Washington Street. However, he’s also attempting to grow a new business right in his backyard.
According to Rutland zoning permits, Watkins is planning a roughly 1,000-square-foot garage-like building where he will grow cannabis and then deliver it to nearby dispensaries. “Good for taxes, definitely will help the taxes, maybe lower our taxes, our property taxes,” Watkins said.
Neighbors on nearby Butterfly Avenue have filed appeals over the approved zoning permits. “Surprised the city would allow something like that and surprised that a quiet residential neighborhood like ours was going to be subject to something like that,” said Richard Smyrski, a nearby resident.
He’s concerned about other unintended impacts from the operation as well as the neighborhood’s safety. “Smell, noise, activity, and then also perhaps the criminal element,” Smyrski said. “It’s just not a good fit for a small, quiet residential neighborhood.”
“School bus stop is right outside his house. You’re a mile from Christ the King School. You got young children in the neighborhood. This is not a traditional home business that we see,” said Thomas Bixby, an attorney representing Susan Kelley, who lives across the street. They’ve filed a separate appeal questioning whether the operation will be limited to 10 hours a day, as the permit claims. “It’s out of character with the neighborhood. There’s going to be noise, there’s going to be smells. This is a 24-7 operation. You got watering, you got lights, you got cutting of the buds. This is not within a 10-hour limitation.”
Watkins says he is still expecting to open in June after the appeal process is complete and says he is doing what he can to ease neighbors’ concerns. “There are three doors before you even reach the flower room in this building. So, as far as smell, you know, we’re taking all the precautions we can to get extra filtration systems put in,” he said.
City officials say an appeal hearing has been set for April and they have also sent the issue of home occupation to the city’s Charter and Ordinance Committees for review.