New Haven — The city soon will get its second, third and fourth adult-use cannabis outlets with two additional locations possibly on the way after the City Plan Commission approved new cannabis stores in the former Long Wharf Theatre and on State Street and a new hybrid dispensary/store on Amity Road.

Two proposed additional outlets, including a new location for the existing Affinity Health and Wellness hybrid cannabis dispensary and store in what is now the 91 Diner on Middletown Avenue and a proposed hybrid dispensary and store in the former Connecticut Savings Bank on Church Street, will be considered in a special meeting next Wednesday night.

When the dust settles, there could be a total of five cannabis outlets in the city because Affinity would move from its current location at 1351 Whalley Ave. to the proposed new location at 420 Middletown Ave.

The way the city's enabling ordinance reads, five cannabis establishments is the limit, officials said.

Approval of Affinity's proposed new location is by no means assured, however, after two alders, a Democratic ward co-chair, a police area supervisor and several neighbors spoke against it at a meeting Wednesday night.

Middletown Ave. neighbors opposed

Several speakers, including Quinnipiac Meadows Alder Gerald Antunes, D-12, Fair Haven Heights Alder Rosa Ferraro Santana, D-13, Lt. Brian McDermott, the police department's district manager, and Ward 12 Democratic Co-chair Mary Thigpen, spoke against the Affinity proposal.

They cited possible traffic issues and its location across Middletown Avenue from the future an early child education center being constructed by the Fair Haven-based Friends Center for Children Inc., which bought the former Cine 4 movie theater property.

The Long Wharf application, in contrast, had a letter of support signed by 10 alders who visited INSA's flagship Springfield, Mass., location and testimony in support from neighbors, while the Amity Road and State Street applications both also had area alders and neighbors testifying in favor.

The City Plan Commission initially moved to deny the Affinity application, but a motion to deny by member Joy Gary failed to pass on a 2-2 vote.

Affinity owner Ray Pantalena and attorney Bernard Pellegrino earlier tried to allay concerns, with Pellegrino saying, "I understand that something new coming to a neighborhood can cause some consternation and fears," but adding, "I think our best response to that has to do with our reception on Whalley Avenue, in that there have been no onsite issues."

He said patrons would "come right off the highway," go into Affinity and then "you're going to get back on the highway."

Pantalena said Affinity "identified a site that the city says is acceptable" and would not bring new traffic to the area because "there's already a business operating there. We are replacing one set of traffic with another."

The diner's owner, Stavros Karadimos, has been operating for 35 years, is hoping to retire soon and would likely close at some point anyway, Pantalena said. Karadimos did not attend.

"We told him that we would hire all his employees so none of them would be displaced," Pantalena said.

Affinity has a contract to buy the property, pending City Plan Commission approval, said Pellegrino.

Pantalena said additional parking is a reason why he wants to move. He said he currently shares 40 parking spaces among four tenants in the strip mall Affinity is in. The proposed new location has 58 spaces, he said.

If the City Plan Commission doesn't approve Affinity's application, it could result in two hybrid dispensary/stores within about 1,600 feet of each other on Whalley Avenue and Amity Road, just over the 1,500 limit.

Nautilus attorney Joseph Williams of Shipman and Goodwin has said he believes there would be enough demand for both. Pantalena disagrees.

Pellegrino pointed out that the future early childhood education site in the former movie theater is "across the state highway and up a substantial elevation, which "really reduces any opportunity for any adverse impact there."

"We're not the boogie man. We're not bringing cannabis to Middletown Avenue," said Pantalena, who lives in Madison. "Cannabis is probably already there. We're here to be a good neighbor and partner."

Antunes and Ferraro Santana both had concerns.

"I have to speak in opposition," said Antunes. "I've talked to a number of residents in the area" and "we're totally in opposition to this."

Antunes questioned the suggestion that Affinity wouldn't increase traffic, citing increased parking. "Parking brings traffic," said Antunes, a retired police officer. He also pointed out Ross Woodward School is just down the road.

Ferraro Santana said "it is too close to a (pre-) school that's being built." She said she supported the Long Wharf facility "mainly because it is away from schools and it is in an isolated area. But I do not support this one."

Lt. McDermott cited the "significant investment from the Friends Children's Center" and said the suggestion that it won't be a problem because it's across a state highway is "kind of misleading terminology in that it's a two-lane road." In fact, "The edge of the old movie theater property is just across the street," McDermott said.

The other three proposals that came up, by contrast, had much easier roads to get through.

INSA sails through at Long Wharf

For the INSA proposal, Hill-City Point Alder Carmen Rodriguez spoke in favor, saying, "I urge the committee to approve this favorably ... I am in favor of this coming to Long Wharf area."

Several others also spoke in favor, including lawyer Mark Sklarz, who represents the New Haven Food Terminal Inc., Joe Pallotti, third-generation owner of Lamberti Sausage Co. and food terminal President Richard Falcigno.

Its site plan was approved unanimously, although member Carl Goldfield voted against its special permit, saying, "it just doesn't feel right to me. It seems like a giant marijuana corporation that's all over the place, joining with an equity applicant who's not even from New Haven."

Smooth sailing for Amity Road facility

Both the Nautilus Botanicals and Let's Grow Hartford applications, which were the last to come up, appeared to sail through, gaining unanimous approval.

Commission members noted that Nautilus owner and social equity applicant Luis Vega, partnered with Massachusetts-based Merida Capital, lives in New Haven and spent part of his life living near the Amity Road location.

"My big focus on choosing this area is that this is an area that I directly live in," Vega told them. "If something happens, I'm down the road."

The application calls for a 1,600-square-foot facility, with 500 square feet designated for retail, with 22 available parking space plus 10 designated space in the adjacent (Sam Ash) lot in an area directly behind the Five Guys restaurant.

Asked by Goldfield how directly involved Vega might be, he said, "I'm very, very proud to say that this is my business. I just didn't have the money so I had to get some business partners ... This is my business and I will be involved in every decision."

West Rock/West Hills Alder Honda Smith, D-30, said, "I'd like to say that I'm so very proud of Mr. Luis. He was one of my residents in this ward ... I'm so proud of him making the turnaround ... He once did this illegally, but now he's making a turn-around."

Support for State Street cannabis

Let's Grow Hartford applicant David Salinas, partnered with social equity applicant Janice Fleming Butler of Hartford, is the creator of The District coworking space on James Street. Butler's list of accomplishments includes operating the only Black woman-owned lobbying firm in Connecticut, she said.

Salinas used to live in New Haven but now lives in Milford. "I've built multiple companies in New Haven and Connecticut," he said. "I personally have been studying the cannabis space for over four years."

Those speaking in favor of the application include Vega, the owner of Nautilus Botanicals, Fair Haven-East Rock Alder Claudia Herrera, D-9, and Frank Redente Jr., youth development coordinator for Fair Haven Middle School and Democratic candidate for Ward 15 alder.