May 16, 2022
Dear friends and neighbors,
I don’t know how I missed this! There is a CRB meeting tonight at 7pm coincidentally scheduled two days before the City Council votes to add Hoboken residents to the CRB. And it includes at least two applicants that violate our existing Cannabis Laws. More on this below...
BUT FIRST: PLEASE NOTE: I am moving my pre-meeting for the County Planning Board meeting to 630pm tonight instead of 7! If you want to join my meeting tonight – it will be quick! - please email me and I will send you the Zoom Link. Also I am correcting the link to email Mayor Bhalla (and me) to ask that he push his representative on the Hudson County Planning Board – John Allen – to vote in favor of Hoboken neighbors and not in favor of the mayor of Jersey City.
Contrary to their efforts to impose and support the commonsense cannabis legislation that was passed on April 6th and signed by Mayor Bhalla on April 8th, it seems like the Bhalla administration is rushing to approve as many dispensaries in Hoboken as possible. With absolute discretion on how to move forward, what other explanation could there be?
The three applicants being considered tonight are:
- 86 River Street – this is to add a recreational cannabis license to a location that was already approved for a medical license a block away from the PATH train. The key difference is that the recreational license currently will not require appointments, whereas I believe the medical license was granted partly because it would be by appointment only. Interestingly, our laws technically prohibit this from being granted because the new recreational license is within 500 feet of another license – the Harmony medical license at 95 River Street. The City Council has approved on first reading an amendment that would grandfather both dispensaries and would not require that they meet the location constraints and will be voting on second reading on Tuesday.
- 1427 Grand Street. 5th Ward. This location is a one-story location in the I-1 zone, directly east of the Biergarten on the corner of 15th and Grand and one block north of the viaduct. The applicant has indicated they have secured 17 parking spaces at the Park and Garden parking garage at 15th and Park.
- 321 Washington St. 1st Ward (3rd location) Located less than 600 feet away from both Demarest and Stevens Cooperative and violates our current laws. This property btw is 1.5 blocks away from 128 Washington which the CRB declined two weeks ago.
The Bhalla administration and the current CRB Board are taking the position that if applicants submitted their 3 page applications to the CRB before April 28th, when our common sense cannabis laws went into effect, then these new laws don’t apply to their application. This isn’t backed by any precedent or law, this is a policy they have made. They are citing “Time of Application” which is a state law that specifically relates only to land use boards (planning and zoning) which the CRB is not. As a matter of fact, Hoboken's Corporation Counsel Brian Aloia has said repeatedly that it is only an advisory board and not a land use board. If this policy continues, then even the cap of 6 dispensaries may be in jeopardy.
The planning board, however, is another story – the planning board IS a land use board and the Supreme Court of NJ has held that the “Time of Application” law applies when an applicant’s application to the land use board is substantially complete. And it further states that just submitting an incomplete application doesn’t get you excluded from the “Time of Application” law. So hopefully the Planning Board will apply the statute to any applicants to the Planning Board whose applications were not substantially complete on April 28th. Including the proposed Blue Violet dispensary at 628 Washington St. who I understand may not yet be deemed complete. For those opposing this location because of its proximity to two schools – now is your chance to speak up and raise this as an important issue. #morevoices
The CRB has already endorsed 5 of the 6 locations allowed under our laws. But right now, I don’t even know if the Bhalla administration plans to enforce this provision. It seems like they don’t have any plans to which is incredibly frustrating to say the least. He has the discretion to choose in favor of residents, and take the position that the recent laws we enacted – to restore what we had before CP Russo misled us – do apply, instead of a path and policy that favors the cannabis operators and their landlords over Hoboken residents and families.
Whether you agree or not, write to Mayor Bhalla who sets to tone on this for our community and tell him your views. I mentioned before that the feedback I have received so far is about 85% wanting restrictions, and 15% wanting less (or no) restrictions. I will tell you if this changes.
Please forward to everyone you know who may be interested in this newsletter. Feel free to email me at councilwomanfisher2@gmail.com or call me at 201-208-1674 to discuss what you have read or anything else that is important to you. TiffanieFisher
Hoboken City Council, 2nd Ward
Engage. Inform. Advocate.
“More Voices are Better”
CITY OF HOBOKEN Hoboken Cannabis Review Board 94 Washington Street Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
Jason Freeman, Business Administrator Leo Pellegrini, Dir. Health & Human Services
Michael Russo, Council Member
PUBLIC MEETING OF THE HOBOKEN MEDICAL CANNABIS REVIEW BOARD SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY, MAY 16, 2022 AT 7:00 PM
The Hoboken MEDICAL CANNABIS REVIEW BOARD (the “Board”) will host a virtual meeting to discuss the business of the Board. The meeting will take place via the Zoom platform beginning at 7:00 PM on Monday May 16, 2022, and will be recorded.
Please be advised that due to the current State of Emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and in accordance with guidelines issued by the State of New Jersey for public meetings during this time, the May 16, 2022 , Authority meeting will be held virtually and will be available to the public via Zoom (instructions below).
When: May 16, 2022 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: Hoboken Cannabis Review Board Meeting
Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82253610084
Or One tap mobile :
US: +13017158592,,82253610084# or +13126266799,,82253610084# Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833
Webinar ID: 822 5361 0084
International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kttfAIDve
Public portion will be held virtually at the end of the agenda. Comments from the public will be limited to 5 minutes per person. Those who wish to comment must be dialed in through Zoom.
Following is the link to the agenda and agenda packet: http://hobokennj.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=2427
Please email pcarcone@hobokennj.gov with any questions regarding this meeting.
Call to Order
Reading of Announcement regarding the open Public Meetings Act
Reading and Approval of Minutes of the previous meeting
Committee Reports
Matters Scheduled for Review:
A. 86 River Street, CRB-22-6
Block/Lot: Zone: Applicant: Presenter(s): Description:
222, Lot 5
C-1
Terrapin Investment Funds II, LLC James Burke, Esq.
Retail Cannabis License
B. 1427 Grand Street, CRB-22-7
Block/Lot: Zone: Applicant: Presenter(s): Description:
122, Lot 14
I-1
The Jersey Joint Inc. Sean Mack, Esq.
Retail Cannabis License
C. 321 Washington Street, CRB-22-9
Block/Lot: Zone: Applicant: Presenter(s): Description:
214, Lot 9
C-2
Culture Hoboken Inc. Charles J. Harrington Esq. Retail Cannabis License
Public Comment Section
Adjournment
