Littleton Board Continues Two Septic Hearings, Conditionally Backs Cannabis Odor Plan

LITTLETON — January 24, 2024 — Littleton Board of Health continued two failing-septic hearings and conditionally endorsed a cannabis dispensary's odor-control expansion at its January 24, 2024 meeting. The board voted 4-0 to continue a hearing for 18 Middlesex Street, where engineer Chris Stoddard said adding a required secondary treatment system would push total septic costs from roughly $30,000 to more than $40,000 — asking him to return with plans showing a three-foot groundwater offset instead. A second 4-0 continuance covered 23-31 Stevens Street and 1 Adam Street, where attorney Thomas Gibbons sought a Title 5 waiver for a shared granite-block cesspool dating to 1957 that handles an average of 347 gallons per day; Health Agent Jim Gareffi said the system is not an imminent hazard but the board wants a formal shared-system agreement and escrow arrangement before acting. The board voted 5-0 to endorse Sanctuary Medicinals' odor management plan to the Planning Board contingent on a mechanical peer review of the facility's HVAC design, incorporating a new carbon-based exhaust system for an ancillary processing building that will add no new cannabis grow capacity.