Township Council Meeting — Packet

356-24 December 10, 2024 RESOLUTION WHEREAS, following the adoption of the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act in 2019 and passage of the 2020 ballot issue amending the New Jersey Constitution to legalize the possession, cultivation, processing and sale of retail marijuana, the State of New Jersey adopted the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act in 2021 (the “State Statute”); and WHEREAS, the State Statute created the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (the “Commission”) and established a framework for the application and issuance of a state license for the operation of cannabis related business licensed by the State of Jersey (“Licensed Cannabis Entities”) which includes the requirement that an applicant for a state license provide proof of local support as to the suitability of the proposed location for a proposed cannabis related business; and WHEREAS, On August 19, 2021, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 24:6I-34(d)1a of the State Statute, the Commission established regulations further governing the application and issuance of a state license for Licensed Cannabis Entities (the “Commission Regulations”); and WHEREAS, N.J.A.C. 17:30-5.1(g) of the Commission Regulations requires the applicant for a State License to include in its application “proof of local support for the suitability of a cannabis business’s proposed location indicating that the intended location is appropriately located or otherwise suitable for activities related to the operations of the proposed cannabis business” (“Local Support”); and WHEREAS, on July 13, 2021, the Township Council for the Township of West Orange (the “Township”) adopted Ordinance 2647-21 (the “Cannabis Ordinance”) which establishes both the zoning requirements and the Township’s licensing requirements for Licensed Cannabis Entities which seek to operate within the Township; and