HEATH — After the building inspector issued a cease-and-desist order, the Selectboard hopes the limited liability company planning to run a cannabis cultivation site at 11 Bellor Road will remove eight illegal storage containers.

“They have not done one single thing they have promised us other than cut down all the trees,” Selectboard member Sue Lively said during a Tuesday meeting.

In November 2021, the town signed an agreement allowing for the creation of a cannabis cultivation site on a total of 54 acres at 11 Bellor Road, with 5 acres each being used by four companies — Alchemy Cannabis Inc., True Cannabis Inc., Vega Cannabis Inc. and Vybz Inc. These entities formed a limited liability company with the lot’s address as its name to only need one host community agreement.

A year and a half later, the companies still have not begun producing any cannabis in Heath and came under the attention of the Selectboard in February. The board had received a complaint about the eight storage containers that were placed on the parcel of land owned by True Cannabis.

Back in February, the building inspector issued the company a cease-and-desist order to remove the storage containers. According to town bylaws, storage containers require a special permit. The cease-and-desist order states the company submitted a permit application for the storage containers in September 2022 and was denied a month later.

“The containers were installed haphazardly, without a foundation or properly leveling them ... and are clearly temporary in nature,” Building Inspector James Hawkins states in his letter.

Additionally, the containers had permanent wiring installed in them. The company received a cease-and-desist order from the electrical inspector about this issue.

Town officials also take issue with a fence that was constructed around the storage containers. Town Coordinator Hilma Sumner explained the fence is in the right-of-way for the public road.

Attempts to reach Christopher Yatooma of True Cannabis and 11 Bellor Road LLC have been unsuccessful.

Other compliance issues involve 11 Bellor Road LLC not paying the town what it agreed to pay in its host community agreement — specifically, the legal fees involved with adopting the agreement. After numerous requests from the town over multiple years, the company has not paid anything and has stopped responding to the town.

“The silence has been disappointing,” Sumner said.

While not responding to the town, the company has responded to Hawkins’ orders. According to correspondence with Hawkins, True Cannabis plans to dispute the cease-and-desist order but will remove the “buildings” (referring to the storage containers) in the meantime.

The company also told Hawkins that it has not abandoned the project. Mark James, an attorney for 11 Bellor Road LLC, had said during a February 2022 Planning Board meeting that cannabis growing was anticipated to start by November 2022.

At Tuesday’s Selectboard meeting, board members said they hope to devise a plan of action with Hawkins, including dates of removal for the illegal storage containers.

At Annual Town Meeting earlier this month, Selectboard members said disputes between the town and the cannabis companies are likely to be a large concern in the coming fiscal year. As residents attempted to cut the legal fees budget line item for fiscal year 2024 from $20,000 to $10,000, board members explained they would likely need to consult with town counsel regarding the cannabis companies in the coming year.

“We already know we are going to be needing to deal with an issue of a business. At this point, they have not been cooperative,” Lively said at Annual Town Meeting. After this explanation, voters opted to change the legal fees line item to $15,000 for FY24.

“I can envision this will be a large legal expense in FY24,” Sumner said.

Reach Bella Levavi at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.

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