The Mount Laurel zoning board Wednesday night denied a proposal to open a medical marijuana dispensary on Route 73 in Mount Laurel, just over the Evesham border.
Zoning Board of Adjustment members voted 6-1 against Curaleaf New Jersey Inc.'s plan for a facility at 1315 Route 73, now the site of a Giant Fitness gym and owned by Balducci Inc. of Haddonfield.
Board member Robert Killen was the only vote in favor. He had made a motion to approve the plan but it died for lack of a second.
Several board members noted the dispensary would not be 1,000 feet away from residences and a daycare center — as required by the township's medical marijuana ordinance. They said the ordinance was designed with this specialized use in mind and has not yet been used in Mount Laurel. A more suitable site meeting the requirements should have been selected by Curaleaf, some on the board and members of the public said.
"There's a 1,000-foot limit in there for a reason," member Joseph Green said.