The planned opening of a cannabis dispensary at 86 Kirkland St. has sparked backlash from neighbors.
They say the Wonderland Dispensary & Delivery would prove “extremely harmful to our neighborhood and change its fundamental residential character” in an online petition that has since drawn more than 300 signatures since going live June 3.
The proposal would be the second of its kind in six years: In 2019, Binoj Pradhan planned to open a cannabis dispensary at the same address, in a former laundromat, dry cleaner and tailor shop in Kirkland Village, a Mid-Cambridge neighborhood near the Somerville city line. An online petition circulated in protest and vocal objections by neighborhood residents led to the proposal being shot down.
Attempts to reach Pradhan for comment were unsuccessful.
When news of Wonderland reached them, neighbors thought they had another win coming to them: Cannabis retail stores are not permitted within 300 feet of schools, they’d heard, and the Tree House Academy Child Care is within that distance from 86 Kirkland St. “The proposal clearly violates the 300-foot minimum distance from any educational institution,” the child care’s Mara and Daniel Coelho said in a June 7 email about the petition.
The law, though, applies to schools with K-12 students. The child care serves infants and toddlers, and neighbors learned the law doesn’t apply.
Meeting had complications
Wonderland owner Steven DeMarco held a community meeting June 6 at The Foundry community building near Kendall Square that drew criticism from residents who considered it inaccessible and not conducive for discussion. Though a Zoom option was available for those who could not make it in person, connection issues made it difficult for users to participate or listen in.
Mara and Daniel Coelho attended by Zoom and were among the unhappy.
“We kept raising our hands during the meeting,” Daniel Coelho said. “They didn’t want to address us. We felt rejected.”
“We had two parents [from Tree House] that gave up because they couldn’t hear at all,” Mara Coelho said.
No impacts …
Recreational cannabis businesses arrived in the city after a statewide 2016 vote with an annual “impact fee” to make up for “expenses and impacts” the city would feel from introducing a new kind of business, including on law enforcement, inspectional and permitting services, administrative, educational and public health services and even on its roads, “in addition to potential unforeseen impacts.”
The fee was dropped in 2022 because there were no expenses or impacts to cite.
Still, Kirkland Village residents feel a cannabis business will bring problems to the area.
… but still “implications”
Neighbor Jaymin Upadhyay called the proposed dispensary “the most unnecessary and irresponsible thing.”
“This is a family-oriented neighborhood,” Upadhyay said. “I understand that cannabis is legal now, but that just because something is legal doesn’t mean that it’s not harmful. It doesn’t mean that it can’t have negative implications on young people or the neighborhood.”
Resident Michael Byrne had concerns about the increased traffic and safety risks from Wonderland opening, but pointed out that the proposed dispensary was merely a symptom of the larger traffic congestion that plagues the neighborhood.
“The City Council could really help the situation if they wanted to participate in some kind of traffic mitigation process,” Byrne said. “[Traffic] is already a problem. This is just one more straw on the camel’s back.”
Efforts to win neighbors over
DeMarco expressed disappointment over the negative reactions but said he hopes to continue engaging with residents and change their minds.
“We’re going to be doing another community meeting as close to the store as possible where everybody can physically come and raise their concerns and issues, and we’re going to hear them,” DeMarco said. The meeting is expected to take place by the last week of July.
“We’re going to do literally everything possible to make sure that we mitigate issues related to traffic and parking,” DeMarco said. “I don’t think we can make it worse.”
“I hope in the future, when we open and when we’re integrated into the community, we’re able to give back and be positively impacting the community,” he added. “Hopefully [the residents] can be won over.”
A stronger
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In the midst of genocide in Gaza, illegal settlements in the West Bank, Trump ahead in the polls, climate catastrophe, cambridge schools in disarray, why not a well run cannabis business? Keep an open mind! We need a new sense of what constitutes a “family-oriented” neighborhood.
hahah good luck. Western Front in Central Square. Less than 300 feet from a school. The school waived their objections, in went the marijuana market. Funny what a well-placed donation will do.
“Harmful to children”, “disrupting the neighborhood”, “waaahhhh!!! traffic!!!”
Sounds like Kirkland Village has got a lot of WiPiPo in it. Maybe that will make a difference versus the THREE marijuana markets that are literally on opposite corners from each other in Central.
More NIMBY nonsense. They claim cannabis is harmful to the neighborhood, yet alcohol is far worse for communities. Where are the complaints about nearby bars?
Concerns about increased traffic are misplaced. Any business will attract people—why is this one singled out?
Are those concerned about traffic supporting efforts like bike and bus lanes that mitigate traffic? People won’t need to drive to this (or any) shop if there were alternatives to driving.
Cities evolve constantly; you can’t freeze a city after you move in.
I don’t understand. Wouldn’t a laundromat draw more traffic than a cannabis shop? Do neighbors prefer the store to stay empty? Empty stores suppress property values.
There’s a liquor store and a bar within sight of this location. Alcohol is associated with higher rates of addiction, social issues, and health problems compared to cannabis.
It seems some people oppose any change, no matter what.
It’s ironic that people worry about a cannabis shop but have no issue with three bars and a liquor store nearby. Are there no concerns about the “negative implications on young people or the neighborhood” from those establishments?
Regarding traffic, any business that succeeds will attract people. Should we stop all businesses from moving in?
There was a time when opening a shop or developing a property didn’t face a barrage of protests. People need to think of the community not just themselves.
Are these stores actually producing any taxes? All it seems like they do is create more intoxicated drivers and plastic garbage on our streets the same way liquor stores create more drunk drivers and nips laying around. No thanks.
@q99 The answer is straightforward.
“Massachusetts: The state imposes a 10.75% excise tax on cannabis sales, paid by consumers and remitted by retailers. Additionally, local governments can levy up to a 3% tax on the retail price.”
Cannabis use is linked to reduced alcohol consumption.
Reducing car use would be more beneficial to society than reducing cannabis use.
Why would you think cannabis stores don’t pay taxes? Every retail store pays taxes, and cannabis stores pay additional taxes beyond the ordinary retail rates.
A simple Google search would have answered that question.
You are right- I know they are producing taxes. What I meant without the sarcasm was the tax windfall that was promised they’d produce.
Their tax rate is higher than the liquor store down the block.