Metuchen welcomes retail, wholesale marijuana businesses in town
METUCHEN – Cannabis businesses may be coming to town.
Borough Council members recently approved an ordinance permitting two wholesale and three retail cannabis businesses to locate in certain sections of the 3-square-mile borough.
All other classes of recreational cannabis businesses are prohibited here.
Under the ordinance, wholesale cannabis businesses will be limited to the northwest light industrial zone in the area of Liberty Street while retail will be permitted in the borough's highway retail zone.
No cannabis retail businesses will be allowed along Main Street, between Middlesex and Amboy avenues, which is the heart of the borough's shopping and restaurant area, as well as along South Main Street.
The ordinance includes a $2,500 application fee and a $15,000 annual license fee. In addition, all cannabis businesses in the borough will be a conditional use which means they will have to go before the borough Planning Board and neighbors will be notified about those public hearings.
Other restrictions include hours of operation set at 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., queuing of customers outside a cannabis facility is prohibited, the businesses cannot be within 200 feet of a K-12 school, no cannabis products or paraphernalia can be visible from outside the business and no on-site consumption will be permitted. There also will be limits on noise and odors.
During the Oct. 24 meeting in which the ordinance was approved, Council President Jason Delia gave a presentation about steps that led to the council's action, including the 2020 state public ballot question in which about 70.2 percent of borough residents voted in support of recreational marijuana which was approved by Gov. Phil Murphy last year.
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Delia said that although cannabis is legal in New Jersey, you cannot smoke or use cannabis in public, similar to how alcohol consumption in public is prohibited, and smoking cannabis is prohibited anywhere smoking cigarettes is prohibited. He said recreational cannabis can only be consumed in private residences.
He explained that Metuchen initially opted out of having any cannabis businesses due to the lack of state guidance, but indicated the borough supported the concept of the sale and distribution of recreational cannabis and wanted more time for state regulations to be finalized.
And since then, the borough has been working on its ordinance with guidelines provided by the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission, attended workshops and meetings, spoke with industry experts and reviewed ordinances from other municipalities.
Delia said the ordinance was introduced in September, and the Planning Board agreed the ordinance was in line with the borough's Master Plan.
He said statewide about 125 municipalities have now approved some form of cannabis businesses, including some that initially opted out. In addition, he said currently there are 28 retail cannabis locations in New Jersey, 19 providing medicinal and recreational marijuana and nine offering just medicinal cannabis, with home delivery available in many locations.
Councilman Tyler Kandel said this was one of the most discussed ordinances during his time on the council.
"This is not easy stuff to figure out what makes sense in Metuchen and what doesn't. We have common-sense restrictions in this ordinance that will set us up for success and a revenue stream that will help our budget," Kandel said.
Email: srussell@gannettnj.com
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ marijuana: Metuchen welcomes retail, wholesale businesses
