CATONSVILLE, MD — Cannabis businesses could soon use the vacant Catonsville Armory as a facility to kickstart their companies.

Some Baltimore County residents are petitioning against the push, pointing to its proximity to a school and citing the minimal opportunity for public comment.

Community member Josh Jackson recently launched a petition on change.org to voice his concerns. The petition had 520 signatures by 4:30 p.m. Friday.

“The armory sits at 130 Mellor Ave, in the middle of a dense residential neighborhood, a few hundred feet from Catonsville Elementary School (my children’s school, perhaps yours), and is adjacent to a temple and a day care,” Jackson wrote.

The Maryland Cannabis Administration said the incubator would house 110 businesses to store, process or manufacture marijuana products.

The site, however, will not be a dispensary. Customers and patients will not be able to purchase marijuana at the incubator. The sole purpose is to provide a space for cannabis-related start-ups.

The State of Maryland currently owns the land. It plans to issue a license to the Maryland Economic Development Corporation to renovate and convert the building into an incubator.

Design was scheduled to begin this April. Construction is slated to start next month and finish in July 2026.

The 29,000-square-foot armory was not one of the 37 sites originally suggested by the Economic Development Corporation.

“The Catonsville Armory was not identified in the 2023 site report but was selected because it is already a State-owned facility, is centrally located in the State, and has a reinforced vault,” the Economic Development Corporation said in a budget analysis.

Funding to convert the armory into a cannabis incubator is included in the state’s budgets for fiscal years 2025 and 2026, The Baltimore Sun reported.

The Sun said the state’s cannabis reform law, passed in 2023, required Maryland to create at least one incubator space.

Patch contacted the Maryland Cannabis Administration for a comment. The agency said Gov. Wes Moore’s office “is best suited to answer this inquiry.” We are awaiting a response from the governor’s communications team. Patch will update this story if a Moore spokesperson replies.

“Whether or not you support cannabis rights, creating a cannabis incubator, or spending up to $7 million on such a project, the community where this business is to be located should have been informed and should have had their input considered,” Jackson said. “There are plenty of other opportunities in the State to create a safe and secure space for business growth in existing commercial or industrial areas after clear communication and public input.”