Documents › Planning Board, 2026-04-14

application 7 pages Scanned/OCR — text may contain errors

Also attached to this agenda item: 1396 MECCA Croton 10.10 - proposed floor plan Mindset 2015 Approved Resolution 370 S Riverside Ave Cannabis Memo 370 S. Riverside Attorney Letter 370 SRA Cannabis Application 370 South Riverside Ave Draft Resolution Approved Site Plan 2015 Cert of DB Mart Signed Correspondence Part 3 Correspondence Part 4 Correspondence Part 5 Correspondence Part 6

Karen Stapleton From: Contact form at Croton-on-Hudson <cmsmailer@civicplus.com> Sent: Monday, April 13, 2026 9:09 AM To: Karen Stapleton Subject: {Croton-on-Hudson NVI Onnasition to Proposed Dispensary Application (Sent by Stacey Byrne, | B om) Caution: External (Ccmsmailer@civicplus.com)} Misleading Reply-To Details Safe Spam Phish More... FAQ Protection by INKY *** CAUTION: External sender.*** Hello kstapletor Stacey Byrne | « » has sent you a message via your contact form (httos://www.crotononhudson-ny.gowuser/3036/contact) at Croton-on-Hudson. If you don't want to receive such e-mails, you can change your settings at https://www.crotononhudson- ny.gov/user/3036/edit. Message: Dear Members of the Town Board, lam writing as a resident who moved to Croton-on-Hudson 2019 to respectfully express my opposition to the proposed cannabis dispensary application. When my family chose Croton as our home, we were drawn to its strong sense of community, walkable downtown, and the family-oriented character of Main Street. Had a cannabis dispensary been part of the commercial landscape at that time, it would have given us serious pause in choosing this town. | believe many prospective homebuyers, particularly families with young children, may feel similarly, and | worry this could negatively affect the town’s long-term appeal to future residents. Acentral concern is whether this proposed use is truly compatible with the existing character of our downtown. Main Street serves as far more than a retail corridor. It is a daily gathering place for families, commuters, children walking to activities, and residents visiting local businesses. With nearby youth- focused businesses such as Happy Hearts and the Croton Music Academy, the location feels especially inconsistent with the child-centered and family-friendly environment that so many residents value. Even if the proposal complies with minimum state distance requirements, proximity to businesses and destinations that primarily serve children, teens, and families should remain an important local consideration. New York municipalities retain authority over “time, place, and manner” restrictions, including distance from youth-oriented facilities, to ensure uses align with local community character and planning priorities. Traffic, parking, and pedestrian safety are also significant concerns. Croton’s Main Street already functions as a single primary corridor that experiences heavy congestion during commuter hours, school drop-off and pickup periods, and after-school activities. A destination retail business that attracts additional visitors from outside the village could intensify vehicle turnover, increase circling for parking, and create spillover onto nearby residential streets. The parking supply in the downtown area is already limited, and increased demand could make it harder for residents, commuters, and parents accessing children’s programs to park safely and efficiently. More vehicles entering and exiting parking spaces, stopping for pickups, or circling blocks also raises the risk to pedestrians in an area that already sees high foot traffic, including children, strollers, cyclists, and residents walking to the train. | am particularly concerned about the impact on pedestrian safety near crosswalks and busy intersections along Main Street. Increased short-term vehicle traffic, combined with a highly walkable downtown, may create additional hazards for children and families moving between storefronts, activities, and commuter routes. My paramount concern, however, remains the effect on our youth. While New York law requires dispensaries to verify age and sell only to adults 21 and older, the normalization of a cannabis storefront in the center of our everyday downtown environment sends a message that concerns many parents. The visibility of cannabis sales in the same spaces our children walk through on their way to music lessons, daycare, shops, and community activities may unintentionally normalize use among teenagers. The New York Office of Cannabis Management notes that cannabis can negatively affect the developing brain, particularly areas related to memory, learning, attention, and judgment, with development continuing into the mid-20s. For many families, the concern is not legality for adults, but rather reducing unnecessary exposure and preserving a downtown environment that supports academic focus, healthy choices, and long-term success for our children. | am equally concerned about public safety and impaired driving. Cannabis use can slow reaction time, impair coordination, and distort perception, all of which can increase the risk of accidents involving other drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. In a town center where so many children and commuters walk daily, this risk deserves serious weight. Finally, | worry about the long-term precedent this approval may create. Once a dispensary is introduced into the heart of Main Street, it may become more difficult to preserve the family-oriented identity and business mix that currently defines Croton’s downtown. Approval here may open the door for similar future uses that gradually alter the character of the village in ways residents did not envision when choosing to live here. For these reasons, | respectfully urge the Town Board to deny this dispensary application. | believe the potential impacts on youth exposure, traffic congestion, parking, pedestrian safety, nearby child-serving businesses, and the long-term character of Main Street outweigh any perceived benefit. Thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration. é z : 2 3 : z if 3 o & = g 4 ee é ee 3 ° zs 2 E 2 Le 5 uM - e s 4 72% z Pe a g3¢ 3 3 fe 3 &: ig 3 Ph 3 « 8 le & 3 +2 28 § ee 8 ff i E 3 a 5 ee £ #3 i =] oC £ $: & ¢ es &§ g§ = ¢ ee ¢ 2 oS 8B: #3 3 -s 3 ga a 2 4 $s €@ ig ¢ | $s 8 ss g 3 8 € 22 2 sé PEGE 338 43 68 $3 58 Bs 22 3 ¢& fi ay s 2° 8 @ . 653 25 $$ # =€ 3 $5 ¢- 8 8 0 goa gs. 2¢ > § & & 3 2 a & e 2 o 8 . 32 2. 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I’m writing you this today (because | have to work during the planning meeting) to ask you to please reconsider the dispensary application that is put in for the corner of Benedict Boulevard and Riverside Avenue. There are several reasons for this that |am personally against it being the first store you see when you enter the village. In my employment | have had to track crime data in the dispensaries and smokeshops in New York City south of 59"street to the battery on a weekly basis. The data included 911 calls, crimes complaints, and 311 quality of life calls at the location and within the immediate area of these locations. They powers at be wanted me to highlight those that were with in 500 feet of a school. The data wasn’t always particularly alarming in some cases; in others it very much was. In the course of that position we’ve had at least one shooting, assaults, robberies, and a ton quality of life complaints (ie loud music, double parking, and the likes). Both the NYC Sherriff Office and the NYPD have had to and continue to have to dedicate resources to these locations. These are often cash businesses which leave them prone to robberies. | also bring up the 500ft of a school because as you are well aware a daycare is across the street from that location. Now the specific code does not include the language “daycare” “public parks” and “playgrounds,” but that may change soon. Here is what is in the works: NY senate bill 2025-S7275 which amends the language of the cannabis law. In this case subdivision 6 of section 72 and subdivision 4 of section 77 see quote: “ THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Subdivision 6 of section 72 of the cannabis lawis amended to read as follows: 6. No cannabis retail licensee shall locate a storefront within five hundred feet of [a] school grounds as such term is defined in the educa- tion law, A CHILD DAY CARE CENTER AS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH (C) OF SUBDI- VISION ONE OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED NINETY OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW, A PUBLIC PARK OR A PLAYGROUND, or within two hundred feet of a house of worship. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION, A"HOUSE OF WORSHIP” SHALL INCLUDE ANY AREA, INCLUDING ENTRANCES AND EXITS, IN A MIXED USE BUILDING WHICH CONTAINS OR IS USED AS A HOUSE OF WORSHIP. § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 77 of the cannabis law is amended to read as follows: 4. No applicant shall be granted an adult-use on-site consumption license for any premises within five hundred feet of school grounds as such term is defined in the education law, ACHILD DAY CARE CENTER AS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH (C) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED NINETY OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW, A PUBLIC PARK OR A PLAYGROUND, or two hundred feet from a house of worship. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION, A"HOUSE OF WORSHIP" SHALL INCLUDE ANY AREA, INCLUDING ENTRANCES AND EXITS, IN A MIXED USE BUILDING WHICH CONTAINS OR IS USED AS A HOUSE OF WORSHIP.” NY State Senate Bill 2025-S7275 -This bill is brought to the floor by Sen. (ret.)Brad Hoylman-Sigal - NYS 47" district (westside Manhattan) currently in the In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee For this reason alone, | think we should reconsider the placement of this dispensary as a law is already drafted to not allow these dispensaries to operate so close to a daycare. For the possible drain on village resources and the current cannabis laws evolving as to the legality of placement of these locations you should deny this application for this location. Thank you for your time, Brian McAllister Karen Stapleton From: Contact form at Croton-on-Hudson <cmsmailer@civicplus.com> Sent: Monday, April 13, 2026 11:52 AM To: Karen Stapleton Subject: (Croton-on-Hi--9n NY] Marijuana Dispensary (Sent by Karen Doblin, fh _ m) Caution: External (cmsmailer@civicplus.com) Misleading Reply-To Details Safe Spam Phish More... FAQ Protection by INKY ***C AUTION: External sender.*** Hello kstapleton, Karen Doblir = ent you a message via your contact form (https://www.crotononhudson-ny.gov/user/3036/contact) at Croton-on-Hudson. If you don't want to receive such e-mails, you can change your settings at https://www.crotononhudson- ny.gov/user/3036/edit. Message: As a medical professional in the pain management field (NP) and PhD in neurology for 20 years |am opposed to putting a dispensary here for the following reasons: 1. It will attract the wrong kind of people here. THC leads to heavier drugs and there will be hanging out, selling etc going on.Trust me on this. 2. Danger of gummies getting into kids hands and killing them. 3. In the practice we have had more people testing positive for cocaine and fentanyl due to thc cigarettes they bought from someone. Huge concern not to mention the dangers. 4. The medical community still does not know the long term effects of thc on the brain. Not as safe as everyone seems to think it is. 5. Marijuana leads to experimentation with other heavier drugs and this is a fact Do we want ours kids exposed to this? Or ourselves?