For the first time since New Jersey allowed the establishment of recreational cannabis businesses, the Township Council on Tuesday voted to enter into a memorandum of agreement with a marijuana cultivator and manufacturer.
Michigan-based Grasshopper Farms will set up its indoor cannabis growing operation on about 40 acres on the property of Duane K. and Pamela Demaree at 219 S. Cologne Ave., township Manager Chris Johansen has said previously.
The Township Council decided to table its vote authorizing the execution of a redevelopment agreement with Grasshopper Farms NJ LLC to establish an indoor cannabis cultivation and manufacturing business Tuesday evening.
A resolution regarding the matter was on the council's agenda Tuesday, but Mayor Anthony Coppola Jr. opened the discussion by saying the council had received some last-minute documents on the project the day of the meeting.
The new documents totaled a couple hundred pages, Councilman Tom Bassford said.
Grasshopper Farms NJ, LLC has the next 180 days to convince the Township Committee to change its designation from conditional redeveloper to redeveloper of a proposed indoor cannabis cultivation and manufacturing facility at a farm on South Cologne Avenue.
The five-member Township Committee voted unanimously during its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday to approve a resolution that appointed Grasshopper Farms NJ, LLC as a conditional redeveloper and authorized the execution of a memorandum of understanding.
Officials are dismissing the possibility of allowing outdoor marijuana farms in the township, but people interested in the business still have hope about the viability of the project.
The Township Council recently issued a resolution denying Grasshopper Farms NJ a letter of support needed to secure full licensing from state marijuana regulators.
Grasshopper Farms had been planning to operate a facility for outdoor marijuana cultivation, an idea that has polarized residents.