Malden Board of Appeal unanimously denies cannabis variance for Eastern Avenue startup

MALDEN — January 20, 2022 — Malden's Board of Appeal voted 5-0 to deny a residential buffer-zone variance for Benevolent Botanicals LLC, blocking the locally owned cannabis startup from advancing its license at 926 Eastern Ave. The company, doing business as Continuum, needed relief from the city's 75-foot separation requirement between marijuana establishments and residential property lines; five homes on Waite Street fell between 61 and 71 feet from the site's property line. Attorney Patrick McDonald argued the bike path, high fencing, and grade change made the property unique and the shortfall modest, but board members Adam Sherwin and John King said the lot presents no unusual physical circumstances distinguishing it from other Malden parcels and warned that granting the variance would set a precedent. City Council President Craig Spadafora and Ward 8 Councilor Jadine Sika opposed the petition in writing and in testimony, noting two cannabis locations already approved by the council required no variance. Co-founders Warren Lynch and Stephanie Steen-McMorris, certified social equity program participants, had pledged $20-per-hour entry-level wages and an 80-percent Malden resident hiring rate.