On Tuesday, Oct. 6 a virtual abutters meeting was held regarding a proposed cannabis establishment for 202 Neponset Valley Pkwy. If successful, the small, freestanding building in Readville’s Wolcott Square would become home to Suite 420 Wellness LLC – which already has a provisional license for cannabis retail, manufacturing, and delivery.

In 2023, the business had tried for space at 1295 River St. in Hyde Park’s Cleary Square. However, as explained by owner/applicant Geneise Israel, it had not moved forward because of an issue regarding shared egress in the multi-unit commercial building. Subsequently, the Neponset Valley Parkway site was chosen to eliminate that as a potential problem.

Jae Gustavo – a consultant assigned, as part of the City’s Technical Assistance program, to work with Israel – explained during his presentation that the Mattapan resident intends to be the sole investor, funding the $280,000 site build-out with her own proceeds, family contributions, and equity grant funding. He further stated that Israel is looking into purchasing the building.

The recurring issues that were raised during the meeting had to do with on-site parking for the business, as well as customer traffic flow potentially causing additional roadway congestion.

The site is at a five-legged intersection that can be difficult and sometimes dangerous to negotiate, even with traffic lights. Much of this has to do with the volume of motor vehicles passing through; Neponset Valley Parkway serves as a major connector to Route 138, Hyde Park Avenue, Dedham, and the parkway system, and its traffic ranges from commuters, to residents, to truckers.

Exacerbating this situation is the fact that 202 Neponset Valley Pkwy. is positioned exactly where – about five years ago – that side of the road was narrowed down to widen the other side of it to two lanes in that short section. Because of this reconfiguration, the multiple roads meeting at that intersection, and the high motor vehicle volume, the side of Neponset Valley Parkway fronting the site is more of a traffic clogging/backup point.

During the presentation and the Q&A, it was stated and reiterated by Gustavo and Israel that there would be on-site parking for three cars, as well as a delivery pull-in area. However, the building lot is small enough that the parking space count was questioned– and they neither clarified the layout of those spaces, nor how cars would get in and out without difficulty.

Four parking spots in the gas station/post office parking lot across the street were also included in the presentation. While they would likely ease the parking situation and the potential for congestion (the lot’s two exits are on the wider side of Neponset Valley Parkway and on the residential side street end of Hyde Park Avenue), Gustavo confirmed – after being asked by an abutter – that there was no lease agreement in place for them, and no further details were provided as to the progress status of any potential agreement pertaining to them.

Additionally, during the presentation and the Q&A, the quick transaction cycle and customer flow (a five-to-15-minute range was given for a typical cannabis shop visit) was mentioned multiple times by Gustavo, Israel, and attendees who spoke in favor of the proposal.

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Gustavo also cited a traffic study commissioned by Israel, saying that it concluded that “there are no congestion traffic issues that you will have to concern yourselves with as a result of our business being onsite.” On-street parking and public transit were also given as alternatives.

That did not alleviate the concerns of most of the other attendees who chose to speak, and there were misgivings about the traffic study. Beyond that, the “in-and-out” nature of the business – rather than putting abutters more at ease – added to their apprehension, given the site location.

Gustavo also stated that they had been in contact with District 5 City Councilor Enrique Pepén’s office, and that “they do like what they see, especially as it relates to traffic – the traffic plan that we have in place to reduce traffic.” He further stated that, although the councilor’s approval had initially been withheld due to community concerns, Suite 420 Wellness had addressed them and spoken with a representative from Pepén’s office two weeks earlier and that “based on the updates, the upgrades that we made to our current plans, we were given full approval.”

That statement was contradicted at the Oct. 15 Readville Watch meeting.

The Suite 420 Wellnessteam was scheduled for an appointment, but there was confusion regarding the meeting date and they did not appear. Nonetheless, there was discussion about the proposal, and Eddie Conley – Pepén’s constituent services and policy coordinator – was asked about the councilor’s approval referred to at the abutters meeting. In response, he clarified that – although Pepén’s stance on cannabis business applications has generally been non-opposition – “we are going to be holding off on weighing in until they have a meeting with you all.”

That appointment is being coordinated for a November date. Contact readvillewatch@gmail.com or check the Readville Neighborhood Watch Facebook page at https://gvimes.link/rdvllnwfb