Plymouth Board of Health Votes to Keep Tobacco Permit Cap at 43, Rejecting Energy North Request

PLYMOUTH — July 1, 2026 — Plymouth Board of Health votes 6-0 to hold tobacco permit cap at 43, denying Energy North reinstatement bid. Attorney Harley Racer of Rich May Law Firm in Boston asked the board to retroactively reinstate a tobacco permit for a gas station and convenience store under construction at 2 Commerce Way, arguing the permit lapsed only because a former employee mistakenly told town licensing staff in January 2025 that Energy North "does not own nor plan to use" the property, causing the permit to be dropped from the cap. Health staff noted that 2 Commerce Way also sits 389 feet from a neighboring tobacco retailer, 111 feet short of the town's 500-foot minimum distance rule, a standard that has blocked three other applicants. Chair Terry Reid said that changing regulations every time "someone makes a mistake" would make the regulation "really worthless." The board also heard from Dr. Kevin Bresnahan, retired emergency physician and co-founder of Bridge Care, a mobile volunteer clinic approaching 3,000 patient visits that plans a monthly Plymouth presence serving low-income and immigrant communities from a site at 1 Prince Street.