City Council in brief: Marijuana dispensary permit modification gets preliminary approval

The Waltham City Council’s Ordinances and Rules Committee voted to preliminarily approve a long-debated special permit modification for a proposed marijuana dispensary at 305 Second Ave.

Middlesex Integrative Medicine originally received a special permit for medical and recreational marijuana sales at the location from the City Council in 2019. Earlier this year it requested changes to its permit that reduce its proposed building footprint and restrict it to recreational marijuana sales.

After much back-and-forth with the Ordinances and Rules Committee and the city’s Law Department about the permit’s details, the company on Monday night presented a modified permit draft approved by City Solicitor Katherine D. Laughman.

The committee voted to accept the draft of the modified permit.

MIM’s permit will go before the full City Council next week for final approval.

Additionally, City Council committees:

• Discussed plans for an upcoming library renovation through the state’s Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program. (Committee of the Whole).
• Voted to appoint Anja Shafer and Frank Fitzgerald to the city’s Conservation Commission. (Committee of the Whole).
• Preliminarily accepted a $24,500 grant from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection for the Department of Public Works for its recycling program. (Finance).
• Preliminarily accepted a $108,048 grant from the state’s Executive Office of Aging and Independence for the Council on Aging, which will be used to pay for a variety of programs for senior citizens. (Finance).
• Recommended that the full council approve multiple extended-hours business permits, including a delayed permit extension for the Wendy’s at 806 Main St. with explicit restrictions on its drive-thru hours, and a letter for a MassPort permit. (Licenses and Franchises).
• Recommended that the full council approve permits for utility work in the city: the Licenses and Franchises Committee approved two street opening permits from Eversource. Similarly, the Public Works and Public Safety Committee approved two permits for National Grid to open recently resurfaced streets on the condition that it resurfaces the street from curb to curb in the places it does work.
• Formally requested that the City Solicitor’s Office draft an ordinance concerning the city’s use of surveillance technology. (Ordinances and Rules).
• Preliminarily approved a special permit for a drive-thru ATM for the Digital Federal Credit Union. (Ordinances and Rules).