EAST BROOKFIELD - Public opposition to a possible zoning ban on recreational marijuana sales has persuaded town officials to drop the ban from consideration.
Two recent public forums on potential prohibition of such sales likely will result in restrictions on recreational marijuana sales, but not a total ban, according to Selectman Theodore A. Boulay Jr.
"Most people (at the forums) favored the sale of marijuana if we controlled it or restricted it," he said at Monday’s meeting of the Board of Selectmen.
The town Planning Board, which is working on a zoning amendment to present to voters at the annual town meeting in May, would like to meet with selectmen to come up with proposed regulations.
"People don’t want to stop it," said Selectman Joseph R. Fish.
Also at Monday’s meeting, James Shea of Park Street expressed dismay and displeasure with a recent decision to halt door-to-door trash pickup on several private streets, including his. Instead, residents are asked to cart bagged trash and large containers of recyclables to a central drop-off point.
Republic Services of Auburn, the waste removal contractor, opted to halt door-to-door pickup until April 1 because of "safety concerns," according to selectmen. As of now this change will be every year from November to April. The company reportedly complained that certain roads are too narrow and difficult for their large trucks to traverse, especially during or after snowstorms.
"I don’t know how this decision was made," Mr. Shea said. "They should have had a meeting."
He said many of the residents on the affected streets are elderly and it is a hardship to have to put their rubbish into a car to haul it to a drop-off point.
"I find that a bit ridiculous," Mr. Shea said. "It’s not the service we paid for."
Selectmen, who said Republic, not the town, was responsible for the pickup change, agreed to set up a joint meeting involving the affected residents, the Highway Department, the Solid Waste Department, Republic Services and selectmen to seek a solution.