NEWTON, NJ—The Newton Town Council members discussed a draft ordinance during the meeting on Monday about zoning for cannabis businesses. The draft ordinance under consideration allows for all six types of cannabis businesses established in the legislation signed by Governor Murphy in February.
The council members and town professionals discussed “permitted” versus “conditional” uses with regard to where in the Town of Newton retail and other businesses could be located on Water and Mill Street in the T-4 and T-5 zones.
Some conditional uses being considered would include hours of operation, the type and size of the building and interior and exterior security, Newton Town Manager Thomas S. Russo Jr, told TAPinto Newton in an interview. They will not allow for consumption to take place in the retail location he said.
“They will have to do that at home,” Russo said.
After Newton Town Planner Jessica Caldwell went over the draft, Councilwoman Sandra Diglio said she was concerned that some places within those zones were too close to Newton High School and Halsted Middle School and residences.
Once Diglio spoke up about her concerns, Deputy Mayor Jason Schlafer and councilman John Paul Couce echoed her sentiments.
The manager, town planner and town attorney will be looking at the zoning chart included in the draft ordinance presented to council to make adjustments to address concerns raised by Diglio and others, Russo said.
At the meeting Caldwell said the language of the ordinance could be rewritten to include a safeguard and make all such businesses “conditional” approvals.
Other than the concern raised by Diglio about the location of the cannabis businesses, Russo said none of the council member “expressed any trepidation” to allowing for any of the permitted businesses in Newton.
Russo said this is a zoning discussion, not a moral or financial one. He said the voters approved [marijuana legalization] “we can’t turn a blind eye to it.”
In addition to zoning details, smoking rules will also be “tightened up,” according to Russo
“We don’t want people smoking in the parks or downtown,” Russo said. “We are not going to let this become a tent city or pot party when a concert lets out.”
Russo said there has been interest from three parties about conducting marijuana related business in the Town of Newton stemming back to 2019 for cultivation and manufacturing. He said there has not yet been any inquiry about retail operations.
The revisions discussed by the council will be back on the agenda at the June 14 meeting. The next step is for it to be presented before the planning board to make recommendations on June 16.
Finally, the ordinance in its entirety will be presented on the agenda for final approval and public hearing on June 28.
Details about the new cannabis legislation
Municipalities have until August 21, 2021 to opt out of any or all of the cannabis businesses established by the “New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act.”
The businesses established in the new law fall under six license classes. The licenses must be applied for through the state and will be approved by the Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
If the town allows any or all of the cannabis businesses they cannot reject any approved cannabis business for five years. The council cannot change their minds for five years.
The licenses are:
- Class 1 – Cannabis Cultivator; grows, cultivates or produces cannabis and sells and may transport to other cannabis growers, processors, wholesalers or retailers but not consumers. There will be no more than 37 cultivator licenses issued in New Jersey in the first two years.
- Class 2 – Cannabis Manufacturer; processes cannabis items by purchasing or obtaining cannabis, manufacturing, preparing and packaging cannabis items and selling and optionally transporting the items to other cannabis processors, wholesalers or retailers but not consumers.
- Class 3- Cannabis Wholesaler; purchase or obtain, store, sell or transfer and possibly transport cannabis items for resale or other transfer to wholesaler or retailer but not to consumers.
- Class 4 – Cannabis Distributor; transports cannabis items in bulk intrastate, from one licensed establishment to another and may temporarily store, as necessary.
- Class 5 – Cannabis Retailer; purchase or obtain cannabis from other licensed entities in the state to sell to consumers, may use a cannabis delivery service or certified cannabis handler for delivery, consumers must purchase from a retailer to have cannabis delivered.
- Class 6- Cannabis Delivery Service; provide courier services of cannabis purchased from a retailer, make deliveries of cannabis items and related supplies to consumers, retailer can use third party technology platform to receive, process and fulfill orders for delivery.
The state Cannabis Regulatory Commission will establish the maximum number of licenses other than cultivation, based on “market demand” according to information from the state about the new legislation. They have established 30% of all licensed must be given to businesses owned by women, minorities or disabled veterans.
Priority is being given to applicants from “impact zones” or municipalities “impacted by unemployment, poverty or past marijuana enforcement activity,” according to information provided by the state. Further 25% of the licenses will be given “to the extent possible” to applicants who hire 25% of their employees from the impact zones.
Municipalities cannot stop cannabis items and supplies from being delivered to a residence according to the law.
The taxes are levied at the local level based on the type of license and are a percentage of receipts of each sale. The municipality must collect the taxes directly from the licensee and can be handled like property taxes. Bulk transportation and delivery service to consumers is not taxed.
Businesses must have at least one New Jersey resident who has lived in the state for at least two years “significantly involved” on the license application. Licensees must be 21-years-old and will be fingerprinted and have a criminal background check.
In evaluating the application, the commission cannot consider conviction of a crime involving controlled dangerous substances or illegal drugs that occurred before the law was passed.
To this date only 10 of the 12 available medical marijuana licenses are in use.
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