Tuesday, April 21
WEST NEWBURY − On Tuesday, April 21, 2026, the Planning Board will conduct a public hearing to consider the proposal to amend the Zoning Bylaws to prohibit recreational cannabis land uses in West Newbury.
At its meeting on March 19, the Select Board voted to include this proposal on the April 27th Town Meeting warrant, and as a ballot question on the May 4th Town Election. Due to West Newbury’s voters having voted in favor of legalization on the 2016 statewide referendum question, a two-step process would be required in order to prohibit these land uses locally.
This proposal to prohibit is proceeding in parallel with a separate proposal to regulate cannabis-related land uses.
For more background on this initiative, including why a two-step process is needed, please refer to the Town Manager’s memo beginning on page 10 of the March 17 Select Board meeting packet: March-19-2026-Select-Board-Open-Session-Packet
This video posted to the Town YouTube channel is also intended to summarize the separate but complementary proposals now moving forward toward the April 27 and May 4 votes.
