(Screenshot by Caroline Ryan)
In the last of a series of three meetings, the Village of Flower Hill voted to opt-out of marijuana sales in the village during their Aug. 2 meeting.
Proposed local law No. E authorizes the Village of Flower Hill to opt-out of allowing retail cannabis dispensaries and/or on-site cannabis consumption establishments to locate and operate within their boundaries. Under New York State legislation, cities, towns and villages can render their own decisions regarding recreational marijuana sales in their areas. They have until Dec. 31, 2021 to render a decision, but if they decide not to opt-out, that decision is permanent.
Before the board rendered a decision, the hearing was open to public comment. No residents spoke during the meeting.
Deputy Mayor Randall Rosenbaum addressed the audience, thanking the community for their support and feedback during the last several months.
“I wanted to thank all the residents in the past three plus months who’ve reached out to the village through email, on the streets or have actually come to our meetings to express their opinion on opting-out.” Rosenbaum said. “Overwhelmingly, I have yet to run into a person who was in favor of allowing retail sales or on-site consumption anywhere in the Village of Flower Hill.”
Rosenbaum stated that several villages in the area have already chosen to or are considering opting-out of the sale of marijuana, including Williston Park, Floral Park, Sands Point and Roslyn Estates.
“It’s a big trend here on the North Shore and in Nassau County and the Town of North Hempstead,” Rosenbaum said. “I think it’s a wise decision to make because everyone else is opting-out, whoever doesn’t is going to get all that traffic. We already have a lot of traffic all the time. Why would we want more traffic coming to Flower Hill when all these other municipalities are opting-out?”
The Village of Flower Hill’s Board of Trustees ultimately voted to opt-out of allowing retail cannabis dispensaries and on-site consumption within the village.
The Village of Flower Hill will hold their next meeting on Monday, Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m. Livestream of the meeting will be held on the village’s Youtube page, @Village of Flower Hill.
