Pitched weed shop’s first site went up in smoke. So what’s Blulight’s new plan.
WOODBURY HEIGHTS — A retail cannabis business badly burned in its first effort to set up shop in the borough is hoping for better luck with its second proposal, this time offering a different location tailored to newly revamped borough regulations.
The first application from Blulight Cannabis LLC was soundly rejected at a March 6 borough Zoning Board hearing, a meeting that brought out scores of objectors.
Then, the former bank at 30 Elm Avenue that Blulight Cannabis had planned to convert into a store was destroyed in a spectacular and still-unexplained fire. The fire was forwarded to the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office for investigation. Local fire and county fire officials at the time said they could not comment.
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The Prosecutor’s Office has not replied to inquiries about its investigation.
On Monday night, the Zoning Board is scheduled to consider a new proposal from Blulight Cannabis to open a store in another former bank at 890 Mantua Pike, a site near Elm Avenue.
If approved, the company would be the second retail operator cleared to open in the borough's Highway Commercial Zone.
The former bank property recently was bought by Balducci Inc. of Voorhees, according to tax records. The store would be about 2,300 square feet. Its design requires zoning variances from parking spaces, loading spaces, and driveway requirements.
Cannabis business focused on Woodbury Heights site
Despite the destruction of the former Nova Bank at 30 Elm Avenue, Blulight still is pursuing litigation in Gloucester County Superior Court to have the board decision on that proposal reversed. The court recently scheduled a management conference for October.
The borough is adamant in its court filing that it acted correctly against Blulight, which among other hurdles picked a property too close to a local school.
Boro revamps cannabis regulations, focus on Route 45
The Borough Council introduced in July and adopted in August an ordinance significantly revising cannabis business rules it had adopted in November 2022. Local ordinance allows retail cannabis stores as a conditional use in its Highway Commercial Zone.
One regulatory change is retail cannabis now is no longer allowed as a conditional use along Woodbury-Glassboro Road, which also is part of that zone.
The portion of the zone along Route 45 (Mantua Pike) stretches a little more than 1 mile. A retail cannabis store cannot be closer than 500 feet from another such store, and the borough believes that requirement can be met along the highway.
Applicants still must persuade zoning officials a particular site and design would not adversely affect the area.
On June 5, zoning officials approved Summit Wellness to convert a closed M & T bank at 1002 Mantua Pike (Route 45) at the corner of Alliance Street. The proposal avoided siting issues that hexed Blulight, so the Maryland-based company had little difficulty at its hearing.
The Zoning Board hearing starts at 6 p.m. Monday in the Municipal Building at 500 Elm Avenue.
Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.
Have a tip? Reach out at jsmith@thedailyjournal.com. Support local journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Retail cannabis company wants new opening in Woodbury
