LAKE PLACID — The Mellow Moose cannabis retail dispensary was approved by the Lake Placid-North Elba joint Planning Review Board on Wednesday for the property at 2192 Saranac Ave., formerly CrossFit Lake Placid. It will be for off-site consumption only and is the first dispensary to open in the village since local voters approved dispensaries and on-use sites in a 2021 referendum.
The review board discussed the plans for the dispensary at both of its meetings during August. They focused on aspects of the plan that fall under the board’s jurisdiction, including aesthetics and safety. The board worked with Freedom 35 Cannabis Company LLC owner Gregory Johnson to refine a parking plan.
The board held a public hearing for the plans on July 16, when Lake Placid residents packed the third-floor meeting room at North Elba Town Hall to express some support, but mostly opposition to the plan. Concerns ranged from safety and traffic to the proximity of schools and neighborhoods. Others thought having a dispensary, especially in a highly-visible location, was at odds with their image of Lake Placid.
The dispensary is an allowed use in that location, enabled by 2024 amendments to the land use code in addition to the 2021 referendum. As such, the review board was only able to consider the plan according to existing laws, board Chair Rick Thompson said.
“The proposed dispensary, therefore, can only be reviewed according to the specific requirements of the land use code, including, but not limited to aesthetics, lighting, parking, traffic, circulation and landscaping,” he said during last month’s hearing. “I’m (saying) this so that everybody understands where our role is as a board.”
Medical cannabis was legalized in New York in 2016, with recreational use legalized in March 2021. There is currently one other licensed dispensary in the Tri-Lakes, Elevate ADK, which opened in the town of North Elba in 2023. The tax revenue has provided a boost to the town, with grant money from the cannabis taxation funds going to support a variety of projects under the categories: youth, elderly community members and law enforcement.