Cheshire approves zoning change to allow regulated indoor specialty growing with permanent‑structure and odour controls after contentious debate

The Cheshire Planning & Zoning Commission voted on Feb. 9 to amend the zoning regulations to permit regulated indoor specialty growing operations (application by Hydroclonics LLC / Specialty Growers Realty LLC), adopting new safeguards after a contentious discussion about odour, security and enforcement.

The proposed text change revises sections of the use schedule and related definitions to allow indoor cultivation and associated commercial functions under a special‑permit process, with security, setback and odour‑mitigation requirements. During the public hearing and in subsequent deliberations commissioners and staff focused on operational details: whether shipping, receiving, office and drying/storage activities would be permitted in greenhouse structures or should be restricted to permanent buildings, how drying would be managed to avoid odour escape, and how the town would enforce mitigation measures.

One commissioner successfully proposed an amendment requiring that all office, shipping/receiving, handling and storage uses other than the actual growing must be located within permanent structures, not temporary greenhouse fabric structures, and that facility‑wide odour‑control measures apply. The amendment was adopted and folded into the final text.

The commission’s final vote approved the amended text amendment. Several members voiced opposition on public‑safety and nuisance grounds, expressing concern about precedent and enforcement; proponents pointed to detailed mitigation measures proposed by the applicant and to the town’s ability to deny any special permit that failed to meet the standards. The amendment sets policy and design parameters; any individual facility will still require a site‑specific special permit and site plan that will be subject to a separate public hearing.