The Pine Plains Planning Board voted unanimously Wednesday, July 15, to remove a requirement that a planned cannabis dispensary at 7723 South Main St. build an accessible entrance ramp, resolving an impasse that had prevented the business from obtaining a certificate of occupancy.
The decision clears a significant regulatory hurdle for the dispensary, although the applicants did not provide an opening date.
The 5-0 vote amended the previously approved site plan for Upstate Pines after the applicant argued that the ramp was not required under state building regulations and would be prohibitively expensive to construct over a historic truck scale. The ramp was estimated to cost about $30,000.
The property owners are also proposing a grocery store and ice cream shop at the site. The applicants said the broader redevelopment had been paused until the dispensary could begin operating.
The applicants said customers unable to use the stairs could be served at their vehicles. The board did not impose a specific condition governing those accommodations.
The vote addressed only the dispensary. The grocery store and ice cream shop proposals are expected to return to the Planning Board at a later meeting.
Will the grocery building need a ramp? Because if so I am hoping it will have one and it should.
Does the pharmacy in the village have one? Or the barber shop? Asking for a friend?