Westport Select Board members agreed Monday evening to waive a State Road cannabis store’s late fees through the end of the year, in part to “buy time” and come up with a more permanent solution to a request of financial leniency by the store, Coastal Healing.

Phil Silverman, the 248 State Road store’s attorney, appeared before the board to request an amendment to the Host Community Agreement, or HCA — an agreement mandated by the state between marijuana establishments and the municipalities in which they operate. In Westport, that HCA includes a stipulation of three different types of payments owed quarterly, and Silverman said that in an increasingly tough marketplace, they are becoming excessive.

“The industry has changed since the HCA laws were executed last November,” said Silverman, referring to the an act passed last fall that made numerous changes to Massachusetts’ marijuana laws — specifically those related to HCAs, taxation, and Community Impact Fees.

“When [Coastal Healing] was started in 2021, there were approximately 60 to 75 retailers around Massachusetts, and very few were cultivating and manufacturing their own products, “ he said. “Fast forward to now, you’ve got 300-plus retailers and tons of manufacturers. Trying to run this business in this particular market is extremely difficult.”

Silverman went on to describe the three types of payment that Westport’s HCA requires of Currently, Coastal Healing pays Westport a Community Impact Fee of up to three percent of the company’s gross revenue, a yearly fee of $25,000 for substance abuse and mental health services, and an additional fee for legal payments and reimbursements, likely amounting to around $5,000.

“This company is not in a position to pay this kind of money,” Silverman stated, adding that the company has otherwise operated in complete compliance, has employed 12 Westport residents, and has brought around $17,500 in sales tax to the Town of Westport thusfar. “We are just looking for a little relief under that new law.”

Coastal Healing’s request, said Silverman, is for Westport to waive $50,000 — an accumulation of two years’ worth of substance and mental health services fees — and also be required to pay only $10,000 as a Community Impact Fee. To this, board member Shana Shufelt was hesitant.

“I do have sympathy for the company. I appreciate that the company needs to grow and that $25,000 is a burden,” she said. “But we need every penny, every dollar in this town. I’m concerned about making a permanent change to the HCA ... I don’t want to bind us to something with so much uncertainty because we don’t have a lot of case and law behind this.”

She also noted, to the agreement of fellow board member Steven Ouellette, that the HCA’s Community Impact Tax was a big selling point for the town’s sign-on to host a marijuana retailer, citing it as a main cause for Westport’s vote to approve.

The state’s Cannabis Control Commission, or CCC, was expected to revise and revisit its HCA regulations Tuesday, so Monday’s solution seemed increasingly unanimous — “Let’s wait and see,” suggested Shufelt. “Let’s see what happens to the law before (Coastal Healing’s) next payment in November is due.”

For now, the board voted to waive any late fees until a decision is made in the coming months.