The Planning Board voted on Monday to recommend a Town Meeting article that would allow a marijuana cultivation facility to move into the Dartmouth Indoor Tennis facility on State Road.

A citizen’s petition to do just that had been voted down at last year’s Fall Town Meeting amid concerns with a series of last-minute tweaks to the proposal that were announced on the floor.

The new article, put forward for Town Meeting by the Select Board, would change the zoning bylaw to allow marijuana cultivation and manufacturing facilities in the town’s general business district along Route 6.

Maine-based marijuana cultivator Casco Botanical Department had proposed the previous petition article with plans to locate a marijuana processing and cultivation facility inside the Dartmouth Indoor Tennis complex.

Casco attorney Richard Burke had previously stated that at full capacity, the operation would generate an estimated $450-500,000 per year in revenue for the town through a legally mandated three percent “community impact fee,” on top of property taxes.

Currently, cannabis-related businesses are limited to the town’s marijuana overlay district along Faunce Corner Road north of the railroad tracks. No other types of marijuana businesses, including retailers, would be allowed to operate in the business district.

The town still has just one cultivation license and one manufacturing license up for grabs. Any prospective cannabis company would still need to secure those special permits and state approval before opening a facility in Dartmouth.

“What is different about this article versus the one that was proposed last year?” asked Planning Board member John Sousa at the virtual meeting on April 13.

“This is being brought by the Select Board, with town counsel,” answered Planning Director Christine O’Grady.

Select Board member John Haran noted that the board had voted unanimously in favor of bringing the article to the June Town Meeting, and that the language had been revised by town counsel — the issue that had caused the petition to fail last year.

“The town can only have one growing and one processing facility,” he added. 

Sousa stated that the company may still get a variance from the Zoning Board, as Casco had presented a variance application to the Zoning Board of Appeals on March 10.

But as Planning Board chair Lorri-Ann Miller noted, “A variance is forever. Zoning can change.”

Board member Margaret Sweet noted that the company wouldn’t be up and running for 12-18 months, meaning that “the town will get no money for the first year.”

Sweet said that she was concerned with the proposal for other reasons as well. 

“This was brought before the town and before the planning board for a particular property,” she said. “That particular property will be next to a 40B housing project that will be built, which will have children. So I can’t see how this particular location is gonna be okay.”

“It’s a zoning change, not a particular site,” countered Sousa. “We know they have a site in mind, but it’s the overall change we’re voting on.”

Sousa added that he was comfortable with the proposal following Haran’s explanation. 

“The town will only see one [cannabis business] in the entire zone — even though it can go anywhere in that district, once it goes in, that’s it, we can’t have another one,” he said. “And this site has to meet all of our restrictions and all of our guidelines.”

The Planning Board ultimately voted in favor of supporting the article 4-1, with Margaret Sweet dissenting.