BELMONT, MASS. (WHDH) - Belmont residents are expressing concerns over the placement of a retail marijuana store that is proposed to open just a few hundred feet from the community’s high school.
The town’s planning board is set to vote to decide where two retail pot stores will be allowed to set up shop.
One location is on Pleasant Street and the other is an area that includes Brighton Road and Hittinger Road, near Belmont High School.
“As a parent of two young girls and living in this community, you wonder what else it brings into the community,” Cara Haleblian said. “That’s what we’re concerned about: protecting our children and making sure it’s a safe environment.”
The town’s own rules state marijuana facilities need to be at least 300 feet from any schools. Belmont is one of the Massachusetts towns that voted to approve recreational marijuana.
Now, the planning board is set to vote on where those stores can operate, and some say they are not worried.
“I just think there’s enough laws and procedures in place that they could control that,” Anna Fox said.
The public is invited to Tuesday night’s meeting to voice any concerns and after that, the planning board will vote on where to put the stores. The decision will go to a special town meeting for a vote in November.
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