Most of a three-hour Middle Township Committee meeting Aug. 5 was given over to public discussion of a proposed medical marijuana facility on the Indian Trail Road site of the former La Monica clam processing plant.
In the end, the governing body agreed to send a letter of support for the proposal.
A packed room listened to a prepared presentation by Insa Chief Executive Officer Mark Zatyrka, an acknowledged medical marijuana user.
The committee then turned over the next two hours to questions and comments from the public.
What was under formal consideration was whether the municipality would issue a letter of support to accompany Insa’s application for a state license. New Jersey recently expanded the number of medical marijuana sites it would allow in the state and set an Aug. 21 deadline for applicants for permits.
The majority of the public did not oppose the proposal, but there was significant opposition from a group of individuals who live near the proposed site. Those who did oppose the municipality's letter of support urged officials to find another location in a more remote site.
“I don’t oppose medical marijuana but I do feel that this is the wrong location,” one said, echoing the comments heard repeatedly from those who did not want the committee to voice its support for a facility in their neighborhood. The La Monica property is zoned for business activity.