Several residents’ fight to prevent a cannabis microbusiness from taking roots in their neighborhood ended with the Peekskill Common Council voting to issue a special permit to that business by a narrow margin.

On Monday, Dec. 22, council members voted 4 to 3 to issue a special permit to Grand Street Cannabis Co. for manufacturing use at 710 Washington St. in the C-3 zoning district. The business, which would have no retail, aims to occupy about 7,301 square feet of a two-story multi-commercial tenant space. A special permit was required from the council due to the restrictions of Peekskill’s C-3 zoning ordinances. 

Those who voted in favor were Councilmembers Dwight Douglas, Brian Fassett, Robert Scott, and Kathleen Talbot, while those who voted in opposition were City of Peekskill Mayor Vivian McKenzie, Deputy Mayor Patricia Riley, and Councilman Ramon Fernandez.

Prior to the vote, Mayor McKenzie said she was hesitant to move forward with issuing a special permit to a building that currently has noted violations stemming from a fire inspection in October.

“I would rather see that this building is brought to code first and that everything is addressed that needs to be addressed before we go give it a special permit for another business,” McKenzie said.

Councilman Fassett, who voted in favor, said the special permit imposed conditions on the building owner intended to bring the facility into compliance, as well as several requirements for the microbusiness to ensure safety and accountability. 

“We have heard the community’s concerns, and sometimes the answer that we come up with is not the answer that you want to hear as a neighbor,” Fassett said.

The vote followed objections to the business from several residents in public hearings held throughout August and September, as well as a petition in opposition to the special permit with 51 signees, including residents on Roosevelt Ave, Franklin St., Smith St., Ridge St., and Simpson Place.

Chief among their concerns was the effectiveness of the microbusinesses’ proposed odor mitigation system, of which an engineering firm hired by the city deemed effective in November — if properly installed and maintained. That concern was shared by Deputy Mayor Riley prior to the vote.

“The fact that the council and I did not get to see the air mitigation system working at any facility that uses this in person was a problem for me,” Riley said in a prepared statement. “I asked several times to have [the] council go to businesses that use the system, but it was never arranged. We received information from our city planner that there were no fumes outside of the facility that she visited. I need more than that at this point.”

Nine community members voiced their opposition to the special permit both before and after the vote. Several more attendees jeered in reaction to the special permit being authorized. Concerns included applicants having “no ties” to the community, an absence of monetary benefit/tax revenue for the city, and the businesses’ proximity to nearby child services and churches.

“This is not something that we intended to just kind of silently let pass through or go away,” said resident Aaron Bailey. “I still don’t think that it’s something that properly belongs in our community. It’s not something that’s really needed or necessary. And as was said before, it’s not something that necessarily brings a lot of revenue or jobs or real value to the community.”

One resident, John Hodgins, described the placement of the cannabis microbusiness in a neighborhood with “mostly homeowners who are Black and Hispanic” as “economic discrimination.”

“If you vote for this proposal, then clearly you have no respect for Black and brown residents and we will fight on,” Hodgins said. “We’ll demonstrate in front of all your places of business if we have to. We’re not going to let one community feel the brunt of economic injustice.”

Grand Street Cannabis Co. partner Joseph McDonald III declined to comment at this time while the regulatory process is still ongoing. 

Councilmembers who voted in favor of the special permit said the city took residents’ concerns very seriously. Councilwoman Talbot noted that the Planning Department worked with staff to repeatedly redraft the permit, which includes shutdown procedures if provisions are not followed.

Outgoing Councilman Douglas praised the special permit for the cannabis microbusiness, saying he believed it was the most detailed special permit he’s come across in his almost 50 years of professional experience.

“We took this project from something that was barely broken out into detail,” Douglas said. “We put the professionals to it. We’ve had engineers that know what the systems are that control odor. I don’t need to go out and think I can understand all the systems that an engineer could. I don’t need to go visit that. I need to have our staff aware of it and who have visited it. I have to rely on staff.”

Outgoing Councilman Scott commended residents for voicing their concerns, which he said led the city to do the work to ensure their concerns were met in the special permit.

“The city is guaranteeing you in writing, in black and white, that if something is not up to the standards that [are] being agreed upon, that that special permit can be revoked,” Scott said. “Not fined, not discussed, but revoked… Justice is about getting what you deserve. It’s not just about getting what you want. It’s about getting what you deserve. And the city has done the work to make sure that those concerns are met.”