Potential marijuana business owners were not happy after the Borough Council voted to introduce ordinances that would further restrict where cannabis businesses can be established and create a process for reviewing and approving such businesses.
The proposed changes drew alarm from multiple business owners, such as Caryn Cohen and Andy Zeitlin with Canopy Crossroads, who applied for a conditional license from the state immediately when applications were open. The couple said they hoped to open a boutique cannabis store near Red Bank Liquors.
The map associated with the town's original cannabis ordinance passed in 2021 drew an inaccurate 1,000-foot buffer from the Red Bank Charter School, placing the proposed Canopy Crossroads location outside the drug-free zone. The new ordinance, with its explicit 1,000-foot rule, would ban the cannabis store from opening in that location.