The Village of Pelham Board of Trustees voted 6-1 Tuesday to ban cannabis shops and lounges within the village’s borders.

In the state law legalizing marijuana in April, municipalities are allowed to opt out of permitting dispensaries and lounges. They had to act by Dec. 31 and can lift the ban at anytime. As Pelham Manor enacted similar legislation in September, there will be no cannabis businesses permitted in the Town of Pelham at this time.

Trustee Kim McGreal, who voted against barring cannabis businesses, said, “There are two things I can never pass up: A great sale, and an additional income stream. One thing we realized when we were going over our budget line by line is that we don’t have a spending issue, we have a revenue issue.”

Under the state law, an excise tax of 4% will be charged on cannabis products, and municipalities will receive 75% of that tax revenue from local retail operations. 

Other members of the village board indicated they were interested in revisiting the idea in the future. Their main points of concern were the need to discuss the issue more with community members, not having a plan for how the village would handle the transition and a lack of definitive action by the state.

“For the record, I am in favor of allowing these uses in Pelham, but I also think the permitted course is to implement zoning that complies into regulations once they are known,” said Deputy Mayor Michael Carpenter. “So for me, this is a long process, and tonight is just one step, but it is a step that maintains the village’s control over its future.” 

“We’ll be able to opt in later, and I would feel more comfortable opting in at a later date knowing what the public has to say and being able to factor in what we would want to do on a longer-term basis,” said Trustee Russell Solomon.  

The board held public hearings on the opt-out legislation during three of its meetings in October and November, before which it had a legal expert make a presentation on the state law. The Pelham Manor board held one hearing and barred the cannabis businesses that same night.

Mayor Chance Mullen said the parking deck at the corner of Third Street and Fourth Avenue will be undergoing construction and the cost of a monthly parking permit will be reduced. The board voted to discontinue annual permits.

Village of Pelham public notices: Laws barring cannabis businesses subject to permissive referendum