Proposed cannabis cultivation and distribution site approved in New Britain

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (WFSB) - A new cannabis cultivation center is coming to New Britain, but not everyone is happy about it.

The center is being built at an old Webster Bank on Slater Road. The location is close to five schools, some of which are less than a mile away.

At a Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals meeting on Tuesday, residents shared their concerns with how close the location is to local schools.

“How should we explain to our children who want to play outside what that smell is? How should the teachers at Gaffney and DiLoreto or the…school explain to their students that the city is more concerned with revenue than their own health and wellbeing,” says Shelley Vincenzo from New Britain.

The developer, CCC construction, says an odor control plan will be submitted to the city. They say the facility will help the local economy and will employ over 100 people.

“The average cannabis employee in Connecticut earns about $50,000 a year. That’s $25 an hour,” says Michael Ceccorulli of CCC Construction.

Locals still had concerns about the new facility.

“I’m not against marijuana, we know the goods and the bad for it. What I’m against is having that kind of establishment in a community that’s been trying to thrive and trying to build into something that’s better than marijuana,” says Franciso Santiago of New Britain.

Despite the controversy, the proposal still passed with the amendment that the developers must install and maintain an odor control mitigation system approved by the department of public health.

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