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Pine Plains Fire District Notice of Public Hearing on Budget 10/19/2021 at 7:15 p.m. at the Pine Plains Fire House, 7 Lake Road, Pine Plains, New York 12567

PINE PLAINS FIRE DISTRICT

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON THE BUDGET

 

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Proposed Budget of the Pine Plains Fire District of the Town of Pine Plains, State of New York, will be presented to the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Pine Plains Fire District.

A PUBLIC HEARING will be held at 7:15 p.m. at the Pine Plains Fire House, 7 Lake Road, Pine Plains, New York 12567, in the Town of Pine Plains, State of New York on the 19th day of October 2021.

Pursuant to Town Law §105, the Board of Fire Commissioners must hold a public hearing on the budget, make the proposed budget available to the public prior to the public hearing, allow the public to comment on the budget at the public hearing. This public hearing must be held to allow maximum public participation in the hearing.

The purpose of the public hearing is to allow any person to be heard in favor of or against the proposed budget as it is submitted, or for or against any item or items contained in the proposed budget, and hearing all persons interested in the subject concerning same.

That a copy of the proposed budget is available at the Office of the Town Clerk of the Town of Pine Plains at 3284 State Route 199 where it may be inspected by any interested person during office hours.

 

Dated: September 21, 2021

 

Board of Fire Commissioners

Pine Plains Fire District

P.O. Box 860

Pine Plains, NY 12567

 

Heather Lamont Secretary

 

Input on Marijuana Law Requested

Your input on the following is requested. Please read carefully and send your comments via email to supervisor@pineplains-ny.gov

Town of Pine Plains Legalization of Marijuana

 For Dispensaries and Lounges in the Town of Pine Plains

 New York State, through the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) [Cannabis Law Article 4], has legalized the possession and use of cannabis.  However, the regulated retail sale of adult-use cannabis is not expected to begin until late 2022 or early 2023.

The State regulatory framework being created is analogous the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law and the New York State Liquor Authority.  The framework is not complete, but several components are known.

  • There will be retail stores (sometimes called dispensaries – analogous to wine and liquor stores) and on-site consumption sites (sometimes called lounges – analogous to bars).
  • The State is prohibiting retail sale and/or on-site consumption within 500 feet of a school and 200 feet of a house of worship (analogous to alcohol sales laws).
  • All cannabis sales will be subject to a 4% local sales tax which will be distributed to the county where sales take place.  Counties are entitled to retain 25% of the local tax collected and must distribute the remaining 75% to the municipalities within the county in proportion to sales in each locale.  (Communities without sales will not receive revenue.)
  • If a retail dispensary is located in a village within a town that also permits cannabis retail sales, the county must distribute the monies attributable to such retail dispensary to the town and village as agreed upon by the governing bodies of those local governments.  In the absence of such an agreement, the county must evenly divide the monies between the town and village.  The moneys will be distributed on a quarterly basis.
  • Under State law, cannabis smoking and vaping is treated the same as smoking or vaping tobacco products and is prohibited in all the same places.
  • Towns and villages may pass local laws and land use regulations governing the time, place and manner of the operation of retail dispensaries and/or on-site consumption sites, provided such laws or regulations do not make operations unreasonably impracticable.
  • Peace officers will be able to inspect all licensed or permitted premises and all records of licensed operators.

At the local level, State law for retail and on-site consumption will be deemed automatically opted-in; unless the municipality passes a local law (opt-out) subject to permissive referendum preventing cannabis sales prior to December 31, 2021.

If the municipality opts-in; retail and/or on-premises sales cannot be prohibited but can be subject to local zoning, which cannot place unreasonable restraints on the business.  Other aspects of marijuana production and distribution have been pre-empted by state law and cannot be prohibited.

If the Town opts-out, then it may opt-in later, but the Town cannot opt-out of either retail sales or lounges unless it passes a local law.

  • To effectuate the opt-out, such local governments must adopt a local law subject to a permissive referendum on or before December 31, 2021.
  • No city, village or town may opt-out after December 31, 2021.

Issues with Opting-in:

  • Our current Town Code does not specifically address cannabis sales or lounges or production of marijuana.
  • Would dispensaries be considered a retail use under current zoning code?
  • How are lounges, if permitted, to be regulated?
  • Is the cannabis – alcohol regulations analogy useful?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hudson Valley Project Scoping Meeting Wednesday, July 21,2021 (preview materials at 6:30-meeting starts at 7:30pm) at Stissing Mountain High School and Saturday, July 31st at 9:00 for preview and meeting starts at 10:00 am.

Scoping is the process that develops a written document (Scope) that outlines the topics and analyses of potential environmental impacts to be addressed in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement, including the content and level of detail of the analysis, the range of alternatives, the mitigation measures needed and the identification of nonrelevant issues.

All are welcome at this first meeting which starts at 6:30 for review of materials, with the actual meeting starting at 7:30.   There is a second scheduled meeting on Saturday July 31,2021 at 10:00 am, with a preview period starting at 9:00 am.  This meeting will also be held at the High School.

Project Layout Map for Draft Scope (1)Hudson Valley Project Draft Scope_06_30_21