Zoning board OKs variance for Carle Place marijuana dispensary

Construction on a new medical marijuana dispensary in Carle Place could begin within weeks, now that the dispensary has been granted a parking variance from the North Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals.

The last hurdle preventing Massachusetts-based PalliaTech from breaking ground on the project is securing a building permit, for which it has been waiting since December.

PalliaTech president and CEO Michelle Bodner said the company was “committed to being a good neighbor.”

“We are thrilled to be one step closer to opening in Carle Place and helping patients in Nassau County and Long Island who are suffering from serious, chronic conditions and need the relief that our pharmaceutical-quality medical cannabis products provide,” she said.

The Curaleaf facility would be the second one in North Hempstead Town and Nassau County; the other one opened in January 2016 in Lake Success.

PalliaTech has proposed opening a dispensary with the trade name of Curaleaf at a 3,000-square-foot former optical office at 255 Glen Cove Rd. ERG Commercial Real Estate, the property’s owner, would continue to operate its office on the building’s second floor.

Town spokeswoman Carole Trottere confirmed Thursday that a building permit had not yet been issued. A PalliaTech spokeswoman said the company expects to have the permit in the next few weeks.

PalliaTech’s application was denied in February by the town Building Department because it did not meet the parking requirements mandated under town zoning laws. On Wednesday, the town’s Board of Zoning Appeals approved PalliaTech’s request to have five fewer parking spaces than the required 45 spots.

A PalliaTech spokeswoman said Thursday that the target opening date had since been revised to late summer.

As of May 8, 54,256 patients were registered in New York State to be treated with medical marijuana, which requires a doctor’s certification for individuals with eligible serious illnesses. More than 1,600 practitioners, such as physicians and nurse practitioners, are registered with the program. There are 19 dispensaries open throughout the state, which has authorized doubling the number of dispensaries to 40 — two each are planned for Nassau and Suffolk.

The state Department of Health has also authorized a third Nassau location, which has not been announced, to be operated by Manhattan-based Fiorello Pharmaceuticals. Suffolk, which has one dispensary in Riverhead, will also be getting two new dispensaries, to be operated by Syracuse-based New York Canna and Purchase-based Valley Agriceuticals.