With the approval of the Land Use Board for a conditional cannabis license for The Honorable Plant it is now up to the state to decide whether the application for a retail store at 123 Bay Avenue should be approved from conditional to annual. Despite any map that may indicate a prohibition for the facility
While action by the State Cannabis Commission was not on the agenda for this week’s meeting, it does appear the borough would need to adopt an amendment to its Drug Free Zone ordinance in order for the state to consider approval.
Edward McKenna, Jr., attorney for the applicant, however, he is confident everything has been done correctly and there is no further action needed before the Commission acts on his client’s application for a license.
The borough adopted its Drug Free Zone Ordinance, 89-26, together with a map delineating the zones in the borough in April 1998 and confirmed it has not been amended since. The ordinance was neither brought up nor referenced by the Land Use Board during the hearing on the Honorable Plant hearing.
However, in the 22 page Land Use Resolution adopted by the Land Use Board unanimously Feb. 9, with no abstaining or negative votes, there is no mention of parks, approved map or the ordinance, although there are references to no school being within 1, 000 feet of the applied-for premises, a requirement of state cannabis regulations .
Time was spent on identifying the meaning of the work “school” after a resident brought up Sunday School classes that are held in the church adjacent to the building under discussion. It was determined the only buildings in the borough that met the definition are the Highlands Elementary and Henry Hudson Schools. While the Our Lady of Perpetual School is also in the borough and could be within 1,000 feet of the planned premises, the school has been closed for several years and is only used for other church activities including religious classes. The board determined both public schools are out of the 1,000 foot restriction on any drug activity from schools and did not address the former OLPH school at all.
Yet the borough ordinance not cited nor mentioned at the Land Use meeting, clearly also prohibits drugs from within 500 feet of public buildings and parks. It also identifies the church property has having a school.
The Schoor DePalma map referenced in the 1998 ordinance identifies the former basketball court on Miller St. as a park or public building.
There is speculation whether the attorneys involved in the application actually were either aware of or paid any attention to, the 1998 borough ordinance on drug free zones. Same goes for the map drawn by Schoor DePalma that was designed to identify them. It is clear the Land Use Committee neither referred to the map nor made any reference to any parks in making their decision. In fact, there is no mention of any park, public, private or anticipated or planned throughout the resolution.
The corner park at Cornwall St. designed and maintained by the Highlands Garden Club is within 500 feet of the 123 Bay Avenue property, a former pizza restaurant and in earlier years, the Food Basket grocery store. The unnamed park at the juncture of Bay avenue and Miller st, which until recently included park benches for passive use is not identified on the map. Nor are the Frank Hall Park nor several other parks out lined on the 1998 map, yet all fit the definition of publicly owned parks. The borough is planning an improved Skate Park as well. That will be built on Bay Avenue at Snug Harbor, with construction expected to start this spring. The park is funded primarily through grants and interest free loans from Monmouth County Open Space and New Jersey state Green Acres funding.
It appears the elementary school property appears to be 67 feet more than the 1,000 feet required for distance from the proposed cannabis facility, a distance close enough one would expect a survey is included to ensure accuracy. McKenna is confident his client’s planners and other professionals have reviewed the distances and are certain the elementary school property is more than 1,000 feet from the Bay Avenue address. The Land Use Board did not question that assurance from the applicant’s professional team. Nor did they require certification from a licensed surveyor.
The map does not specifically identify the varying patterns Schoor DePalma used to define the varying properties considered drug free zones on their map.
The borough Land Use Board is also considering the application of Sea Grass, NJ with Nicholas Frangipane of Red Bank, the principal at its March 9 meeting. The matter was scheduled for the last meeting, however, continued until the March meeting because of time constraints. That application is for property at Bay and Seadrift avenues currently owned by Councilman Leo Cervantes
