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SHARON — Voters will take to the polls Tuesday for a second time in less than two months to decide whether to allow retail cannabis sales in town.
Sharon voters rejected retail cannabis on Oct. 15 by just two votes, 135-137.
A week later, the Town Clerk’s office received a petition signed by at least 5% of Sharon’s 1,197 eligible voters to reconsider the issue.
Both votes were prompted by petitions circulated and submitted by Sean Trombly, a Chelsea resident who owns a cultivation operation called Trombly House of Cannabis. Trombly purchased the former Sandy’s diner building on Route 14 in Sharon, with plans to convert it into a retail dispensary with an adjacent food and ice cream venue.
When Vermont legalized recreational cannabis sales in 2022, it required towns to “opt in” to allowing those sales through a public vote. Residents may petition for a revote once within a period of a year from the first round of balloting, according to the Vermont Secretary of State’s office.
There is no limit to how often the Selectboard may call a special meeting to reconsider the issue. The Sharon Selectboard has, though, indicated a preference for deferring to petitions.
Speaking in October, Selectboard Chairman Kevin Gish said that the board wanted consideration of retail cannabis to be “an initiative of the voters, not something we did.”
The Vermont Cannabis Control Board stopped issuing licenses for retail sales on Oct. 25 in a temporary move intended to address market saturation in some regions.
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Should Sharon’s ballot measure pass, it is unclear when sales may begin.
At the control board’s Nov. 20 meeting, Chairman James Pepper said that the board would have a better sense of the timing of new licensing rules at its next meeting, which is scheduled for Dec. 18.
Trombly hopes that timing will have him in business by early next year.
“Assuming the vote next Tuesday goes in our favor we will be moving forward with our plans to open a dispensary at the former Sandy’s, and look forward to being able to serve the community as soon as possible, and no later than Spring, 2025,” he said by email Monday.
Voting by Australian ballot will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 10, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the town offices, 15 School Street.
Christina Dolan can be reached at cdolan@vnews.com or 603-727-3208.
“}]] SHARON — Voters will take to the polls Tuesday for a second time in less than two months to decide whether to allow retail cannabis sales in town. Sharon voters rejected retail cannabis on Oct. 15 by just two votes, 135-137. A week later, the Town… Read More
