The first item on the agenda is a public hearing and final adoption of an ordinance to prohibit the sale, growth, and distribution of any class of cannabis businesses within the geographical boundaries of Berkeley Heights. Council is proposing this ordinance to allow time for the State to fully develop the regulatory framework and for the council and community to weigh the costs and benefits of any action regarding the sale, growth and distribution of cannabis. Once this is passed, the Township can decide later whether to opt in.
Don’t expect to purchase recreational marijuana in this borough in the near future.
While officials said they might later revisit the decision, the borough council on Thursday joined a growing number of New Jersey municipalities who will prohibit cannabis commerce within their borders following the state’s legalization of recreational marijuana.
In an effort to keep it "a family town," the Township Council approved an ordinance that prohibits marijuana businesses from operating here.
A public hearing and final vote were held at Thursday night's township Council meeting. The measure passed by a vote of 5-0 vote. Due to telephone technical difficulties, two councilmembers' votes were unable to be recorded.
At a time when many nearby towns are outright banning pot shops from opening, Woodbridge Twp. is taking a more nuanced approach: Allowing the existing medical marijuana business that's been open for several years on Rt. 1 to also sell marijuana for recreational use.
However, that will be the only store in town that will be allowed to sell recreational pot, said Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac.
With the clock ticking, Nutley's board of commissioners recently passed a local law banning marijuana businesses from operating in the township.
At their June 1 meeting, the Nutley Board of Commissioners held a public hearing for Ordinance 3473, voting unanimously to pass it on second reading (watch the video below).
The law bans all cannabis establishments, cannabis distributors or cannabis delivery services from operating anywhere in Nutley. Read the full text here.
The Borough Council has banned all forms of retail cannabis operations within the borough. They plan to revisit the issue at a future date.
The ban, approved in a 5-0 vote Thursday, preserves the borough's ability to later accept an application for any form of retail operation.
At the 2020 general election, New Jersey voters approved a public question to amend the state constitution legalizing cannabis which Governor Phil Murphy signed into law February 22.
The law gave all townships six months to decide to allow or ban marijuana on the local level. Section 31B of the act stipulated that if they did not pass the ordinance by August 22, 2021, then for the next five years, anyone could cultivate, manufacture, sell or distribute marijuana anywhere in the township without risking arrest and prosecution.
The Township Committee is taking action to maintain a prohibition of the cultivation, harvesting and sale of marijuana in Freehold Township, as well as banning underage use of the substance, while permitting medical marijuana dispensaries to operate in the community.
On May 25, committee members introduced two ordinances related to the use of marijuana in Freehold Township. A public hearing on the ordinances is scheduled for June 22. Residents and other interested parties may comment on the ordinances at that time. The governing body may adopt the ordinances that evening.
The Borough Council introduced an ordinance to prohibit the operation of any class of businesses for recreational marijuana within its borders.
"We don't want to operate in the dark," Mayor Kristine Morieko said on June 9.
On June 9, council members in Pompton Lakes confirmed their town's place on the list.
Michael Serra, the town’s mayor, said it was clear residents supported the idea of being able to legally smoke marijuana.
More than 65% of voters in Bergen and Passaic counties in the 2020 General Election approved an amendment to the state constitution legalizing recreational cannabis and establishing a state-regulated market in New Jersey. Pompton Lakes voters were on trend.