A plan to grow and distribute medical marijuana in West Tisbury has taken another turn, with business owner Geoff Rose proposing separate areas for cultivation and distribution.

The proposal has changed dramatically since February, when the West Tisbury zoning board referred it to the commission as development of regional impact (DRI).

An earlier proposal by Mr. Rose, doing business as Patient Centric, involved sharing space with Big Sky Tents in a 7,200 square foot building (reduced from 9,600 square feet) that the commission approved in 2010 but that has yet to be built. At a continued public hearing last Thursday, the commission saw new plans that reduce the building footprint by half, and add a full-size second floor. A proposed dispensary would be located elsewhere on the Island, although Mr. Rose said it was too soon to know where.

“We think it’s in the best interest of patients, our organizations and the community to modify our proposal,” Mr. Rose said at the hearing. He added that having separate facilities would reduce traffic to and from the site on Dr. Fisher Road — a protected special way that runs between State and Old County roads.

The first floor would include office space and a required testing lab for Patient Centric, along with storage space for Big Sky Tents, which plans to construct the building. Cultivation would take place on the second floor, with separate rooms for growing, trimming, drying and packaging.

Mr. Rose had originally proposed operating out of an existing 2,000-square-foot building on State Road in North Tisbury, the site of a former hardware store, but plans changed when he learned the state would require an independent testing facility. The earlier plan for Dr. Fisher Road had raised concerns about increased traffic, and the site’s proximity to the West Tisbury School about 2,400 feet to the south. (The state requires at least 500 feet between marijuana dispensaries and places where children gather.)

Commissioners pointed out Thursday that a separate dispensary may or may not require review as a development of regional impact. Another proposed dispensary in West Tisbury, Vineyard Complementary Medicine, was referred to the commission in 2014, but the commission decided that it did not amount to a DRI.

The revised plan for Patient Centric would entail transporting marijuana from the cultivation site to the dispensary on weekdays, but DRI coordinator Paul Foley said the plan would likely not create traffic problems in the neighborhood.

West Tisbury zoning board chairman Nancy Cole noted her board’s earlier concerns over increased traffic on Dr. Fisher Road. Speaking only for herself, she agreed that separate cultivation and dispensary sites would help solve the problem. “I think this is making it a much better proposal,” she said.

Commissioner Fred Hancock and others pressed for clarity about how the building would be constructed. Big Sky Tents owner Jim Eddy, who attended the hearing, said it would be a metal building framed by two-by-fours, with natural board and batten siding. Mr. Hancock also proposed a property easement to allow for shared access with Bizzarro Waste Disposal to the south.

Dr. Fisher Road resident Chris Egan raised concerns about the proposed testing lab, asking what would make it independent, given its presence in the building and the lack of a separate entrance in the plans. Mr. Rose said his understanding was that the lab would not be owned or operated by the dispensary itself, and that employees would need to be registered and have background checks. Mrs. Sibley said the issue was likely outside the purview of the commission.

The hearing was continued to June 15.