April 12, 2023 Regular Meeting Minutes

there are some superficial cracks the paint has mostly faded, so it is his understanding that the parking lot would be ground and resurfaced. NO PUBLIC ADVOCATE QUESTIONS PUBLIC QUESTION Mr. Brown at 36 Joy Street asked how the applicant will make sure that this area is secure. Mr. Elkins said that he will have to leave that question to the security expert although they do have video cameras all the way around the property, which aren't just for the use of the property because that video feed is required to go back to the Police Department and so it'll be monitored 24/7. PUBLIC COMMENT* PRESENTATION The applicant Danielle Grado entered on the record and was sworn under oath. Ms. Grado started her testimony by highlighting how a transaction will be taking place at Dogwood Green. Whether it's for a pickup or a walk-in customer, it does require two points of ID verification, so nobody is allowed on site if they're under the age of 21 and that is strictly enforced. The customer experience will be one of three ways we anticipate serving customers through the front checking their ID and the customer

will enter directly into the cannabis dispensary where they'll have an opportunity to place an order either with one of our team members or at a kiosk if they want to go a self-service route they'll then proceed to a pickup at the counter where they'll be checked out have their ID verified again, their order will be confirmed that it's accurate and compliant before dispensing and the customer will exit the dispensary. The applicant anticipate that transaction would take on average about 8 minutes. Another way they plan to serve the customer is through pickup channels, so that would require customers to do a pre-order online pick up where they can either come into the dispensary having their ID verified at the door or through our proposed pickup window, so again requiring that pre purchase ID upload two-point verification. According to the ordinance they are allowed to operate within the hours of 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM, in which they will comply. The applicant anticipates serving anywhere from 180 to 200 customers a day, however that number could decrease significantly as the New Jersey market stabilizes and continues to mature. There were concerns about odor and Ms. Grado can confirm the odor concerns typically will generate from the cultivation sites, the retail dispensaries really don't have an odor to them, as the product are prepackaged. And opening of products and use of products is strictly prohibited so there should be no smell in or around the dispensary and it's a typical retail establishment and those things are kept very secured. In regards to trash cannabis specific waste disposal will never go into the typical trash that's being housed in that proposed exterior housing and they don't anticipate accumulating any more than a standard business of their size. In terms of product deliveries those typically happen in unmarked unlabeled vans at unscheduled but not recurring time, so they don't want anyone to know a schedule of when they have deliveries. They will of course try to prioritize those when the business is not operational, so they can utilize the security gates. They do have a separate processing area and moving area to ensure that is kept safe, secure and separated. Regardless of what kind of transaction the client will experience, they'll have at least two points of ID verification. For in-store order the ID will be scan at the front door to

ecure and separated. Regardless of what kind of transaction the client will experience, they'll have at least two points of ID verification. For in-store order the ID will be scan at the front door to confirm the age of the client and the second is to provide ID at the time of purchase. If the client is purchasing online to come for an in store pickup they will actually have to provide their ID at the time of purchase through an upload online, so that's the first point of verification, the second point of verification is when the customer comes to the dispensary for pickup and they show the security guard or team member their ID at the door and then the third point of ID verification would be when the customer goes up to that pickup counter to get their order. In terms of employees the applicant anticipates hiring around seven employees and they are planning to have S employees per shift and their goal is to hire exclusively West Orange local residents that would be able to commute very quickly to work, since their plan is to limit employee parking in the parking lot, but the applicant is in the process of securing off-site parking for the employees. BOARD QUESTIONS Mayor McCartney asked if the applicant is looking at renting or leasing parking. Ms. Grado said that they have made contact with several of their neighbors that have parking spot. So, couple of restaurants one in orange, a couple in South orange, there's also a dentist office that's directly across the street that they are looking at as well as their immediate next-door neighbor who might be able to free up a couple of spots. They have also made contact with the Harvard printing apartment complex

across the street to see if there's any viability there and then as a very last resort, we would be open to providing a rideshare stipends for our local team members. Chairman Bagoff asked for confirmation that there is no West Orange public school within 100 feet of the perimeter of this space. Mr. Schkolnick said that there is confirmation that there is no school within 100 feet based on Mr. Grygiel review memo. Mr. Alper asked what's the maximum number of customers that would be allowed inside at once. Ms. Grado said that the standard would be 3 customers per employee which is much lower than what the building capacity is at. Mr. Alper asked if there will be staff to make sure there is no consumption while the client is waiting in line. Ms. Grado answered in the affirmative, a staff member will be outside ensuring that there's not only a positive customer experience, but that anything that is prohibited on site is not happening. Mr. Alper asked if a handicapped customer comes through the back, will there be someone at the back or will they have to come to the front to have their ID check. The applicant will provide a mobile handheld device that staff can use to meet that person at the back door once they've used the intercom, so they can be let in through the back door into the sales floor. Mr. Alper asked if the cameras are being monitored in real time. Ms. Grado said the cameras are monitoring in real time, so they can be able to see any activity around the building and if anything, illegal happens it will handle by the facility security and West Orange Police Department. Mr. Guarino asked how their strategy would change in their operation model if a pick-up window was not available. Ms. Grado said that a part of the model they plan to operate, if the window is operational, we would still offer an in-store pickup option where you would just kind of express past the kiosk, go right to a counter to pick up your order, so if the window was not an option, we would still be able to offer them counter pickup. Mr. Klein asked what time is trash pick-up. Ms. Grado said that it will depend on typical pickup time with the town and they would ensure that they have somebody there on site and available to open the gates and ensure that the trash is able to get picked up. Mr. Klein asked if they have done any kind of a trip generation calculation based on IT

have somebody there on site and available to open the gates and ensure that the trash is able to get picked up. Mr. Klein asked if they have done any kind of a trip generation calculation based on IT data or anything based on your square footage. Ms. Grado said they are not anticipating extremely long lines, but the technology have become really efficient which is why they will provide QR codes so customers can use and be able to place an order and pick-up in a different time and other technology will be available that will help them with the customer flow. Mr. Smeraldo asked if they were to approve the drive through is that the same driveway, they'd be lining up with people picking up and driving out. Ms. Grado said that cars would be on the drive through window and then two lanes over along the fence side is where the customer queue would be then they still have to walk across the driveway to get to the front of the building. Mr. Smeraldo asked how you check [Ds twice in a drive through and get the product out and everything done in less than two minutes. Ms. Grado said that the first point that they're going to upload their ID for verification when they make the purchase, so they have to take a picture utilizing the POS technology that we have available to do the ID verification. The second point comes when they go to the pickup window to receive the product that has already been pulled from our fulfillment space and staged for the team member to deliver to the customer, so in that two-to-three-minute 14

window we're checking their ID, we're confirming that it matches the name, age and address. PROFESSIONAL QUESTIONS Mr. Barry asked about the frequency and hours of deliveries. Ms. Grado said they're made at unpredicted hours and they don't stick to a set schedule for security purposes, but we would try to limit them to prior to hours of operation so that they can utilize their security gates. PUBLIC ADVOCATE QUESTIONS Mr. Thapar asked about what type of training will the security staff will have to detect a fake ID. Ms. Grado said that there's not only technology that would help with that but there's also ID verification training that is provided through their vendor and every team member will go through that training. PUBLIC COMMENT* - Chairman Bagoff announced that application PB-23-02 Dogwood Green, LLC is being carried to the April 26, 2023, Special Meeting with no further notice. Meeting adjourned at 11:36PM. ADOPTED: g/6/23 val Jamilet Ba i ite Acting Planning Board Secretary