Norwich cannabis cultivation plan hearing postponed to Sept. 17

Norwich ― The developer of a proposed cannabis cultivation facility on Route 2 at the Preston line has asked the city planning commission to continue a public hearing scheduled for next week to Sept. 17.

The commission had opened the public hearing at the Commission on the City Plan meeting in July but kept the hearing open to allow time for commission members to tour the property at 105 Stonington Road near the Preston town line. The hearing was supposed to continue Tuesday, but Nautilus Botanicals LLC on Tuesday requested that the hearing be continued to Sept. 17.

The developer asked the commission to “keep the public hearing open and our application active until the next public hearing on September 17, 2024,” Nautilus Botanicals partner Connie DeBoever wrote in an email to the city planning office.

DeBoever declined to comment Wednesday on the reason for requesting a continuance.

Deanna Rhodes, Norwich director of Planning and Neighborhood Services, said the legal plan review process allows the developer 65 days of extensions. If the applicant had not requested the continuance, the planning commission would have been obligated to close the public hearing Tuesday and begin its deliberations on the permit application.

During the July 16 public hearing, Preston farmer Jerry Grabarek, who owns a dairy farm a short distance from the property where the cannabis cultivation operation is planned, requested information about any potential use of pesticides in the growing facility. The Preston Planning and Zoning Commission submitted a letter to the Norwich commission expressing concerns about potential pesticide use and other aspects of the proposed project.

Nautilus Botanicals LLC, a partnership between Shelton-based hemp farmer Luis Vega and New York-based cannabis investor Merida Capital Holding, applied to the Norwich commission for a special permit to operate an outdoor cannabis growing facility, initially with 1,500 to 2,000 plants grown in pots in a 15,000-square-foot area.

The proposal includes an indoor processing and manufacturing operation that initially would be done in a 2,100-square-foot temporary construction trailer. A permanent 9,600-square-foot steel building would replace the trailer in the second phase of development.

The planning commission still will meet on Tuesday, but the meeting has been moved to noon in the lower-level conference room in the planning office at 23 Union St. The agenda includes a referral by the City Council for a recommendation on the proposal to permanently discontinue a 1,500-foot-long portion of Lawler Lane to incorporate the land into the new Occum Industrial Center.

Rhodes said there will be no public comment taken on the Lawler Lane issue. The City Council has scheduled a public hearing on the road closure on Sept. 16.

c.bessette@theday.com