Hunterdon town rejects medical cannabis cultivation facility. Here's where the case stands
LEBANON TOWNSHIP - A plan to open a medical cannabis cultivation facility on Anthony Road has been rejected by the township Zoning Board of Adjustment, but the controversy remains pending in Superior Court.
The NAR Group, which wants to open the facility on 44.3 acres on Anthony Road, has until June 21 to amend its pending lawsuit against the Township Committee and Planning Board to include the Zoning Board as a defendant, Hunterdon County Superior Court Judge William Mennen has ruled.
After months of legal wrangling and more than a dozen public hearings, the Zoning Board rejected the plan on March 27 and finalized that decision on May 8 in a 35-page resolution.
At the core of the legal battle was whether the cultivation of medical cannabis was an "agricultural use" under the township's zoning laws and could be considered a "farm," which would be a permitted use in the zone.
The NAR Group first notified the township of its intentions for the property in August 2019. The NAR Group received approval from the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission in October 2021 to operate the facility.
In April 2022, the NAR Group submitted an application to the township Planning Board to open the facility. But that ran into an obstacle when the board ruled in September 2022 that it lacked jurisdiction because of questions whether the facility could be considered a farm.
Under the state Municipal Land Use Law, it's the responsibility of zoning boards to determine if a use is permitted under zoning laws.
After the application was submitted, the township adopted an ordinance prohibiting medicinal cannabis establishments, including cultivation facilities, in the township.
The Planning Board's decision prompted NAR to file the suit against the Township Committee and Planning Board in November 2022. That suit is pending, with the judge ruling that NAR should submit an application to the Zoning Board.
The Zoning Board hearings began in November 2023 but only after NAR objected to five Board members because they had conflicts of interest. Four board members recused themselves because they had signed a petition objecting to the cultivation facility and a fifth resigned.
That left the board with only four members, but because state law requires five affirmative voters to approve a use variance, the board "borrowed" a Planning Board member to hear the case.
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The Zoning Board's first decision was whether the cultivation facility should be considered a farm and a permitted use on the property. The Board ruled that it was not a farm because the operation occupies less than five acres as required by ordinance.
The Board also ruled that the cannabis cultivation was not agricultural, but "industrial in nature" because of "advance technology" such as indoor hydrophonic systems, artificial lighting, automated nutrient delivery and climate control systems.
The Board further ruled that medical cannabis cultivation is not a "inherently beneficial use" because, according to the board's resolution, "simply because medical cannabis provides benefits to its users does not automatically classify the cultivation of medical cannabis as a beneficially medical use."
A case management conference in Superior Court is scheduled for Sept. 18.
The Anthony Road property formerly housed the Diamond Aerosol manufacturing facility as a research and development facility for internal coatings of aerosol cans, according to a 2011 Environmental Protection Agency report.
Before that it was used by the Diamond East Corporation to manufacture cosmetics and personal protection devices containing tear gas, pepper spray and other specialty chemical products, for about three decades.
In 2011, the EPA report said, the site contained an old stone barn which housed the original cosmetics business, a large stone house used as a residence, two warehouses and various out-buildings used for storage, offices and vehicles.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Hunterdon township rejects medical marijuana cultivation facility
