‘Life is short’
Native American Art
Death cafe helps people embrace living
POSTAL CUSTOMER
Design unveiled for art center
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #217 CONCORD, NH ECRWSSEDDM
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October 3, 2024
Hinesburg considers retail pot
Weekly news coverage for Charlotte and Hinesburg
Haystack Crossing developers to pursue possible sale
Aster time
PATRICK BILOW STAFF WRITER
The Hinesburg Selectboard is considering whether to include retail cannabis sales on the Town Meeting Day ballot in March after a community member asked them to take up the issue. After Vermont legalized cannabis in 2018, the state passed Act 164 in 2020, allowing individual municipalities to opt into retail cannabis sales in their communities. Since its passage, 78 of 247 cities and towns in Vermont have approved cannabis sales. Hinesburg and surrounding communities like Shelburne and Charlotte have not. However, there are many retail dispensaries in the nearby Burlington area. On Sept. 4, Catherine Moller, a Hinesburg community member and business owner of SidePony Boutique, asked that the board put the issue to voters in March, citing the potential to generate tax revenue for the town. The selectboard has regularly discussed the need to generate revenue to support town spending. Last month, the board approved a local option tax for inclusion on the November General Election ballot, which would increase sales See CANNABIS on page 12
thecitizenvt.com
PATRICK BILOW STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY LEE KROHN
New England asters are ubiquitous in the fall in Vermont.
fall APPLE specials CELEBRATING CHAMPLAIN VALLEY ORCHARDS Cranberry-Apple Grain Bowl • Lil’ Squash Salad My Boy Blue! Chicken Sandwich
DINE-IN / TAKE OUT / ONLINE ORDERING
South Burlington real estate development company O’Brien Brothers is engaged in conversations with BlackRock Construction about purchasing Haystack Crossing in Hinesburg, according to director of planning and zoning Alex Weinhagen. Haystack Crossing, which received Act 250 approval in August for phase one of the project, is a mixed-use development on a 76-acre plot in Hinesburg west of Route 116 and just north of the village and Patrick Brook. Phase one includes 43 of the 79 lots on the property, including 40 single-family homes, 50 senior living units, 16 attached townhouses, 10,000 square feet of commercial space and 20 units of affordable housing. Once complete, the development could bring as many as 269 new housing units and hundreds of residents to town. Weinhagen said he is unsure why BlackRock would want to sell Haystack Crossing. The firm See HAYSTACK CROSSING on page 3
Shelburne Road, S. Burlington Maple Tree Place, Williston
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