RED BANK – Recently, members of the Red Bank Borough Council passed three resolutions acknowledging that Next Chapter Market, RBFC and Canopy Crossroad have proposed operating permitted cannabis businesses in town and that their proposals would not exceed the municipal limit for the number of permitted cannabis businesses.
On April 13, council members passed a fourth resolution which acknowledges that PLUG Naturals has proposed operating a permitted cannabis business that also would not exceed the municipal limit.
All four applicants – Next Chapter Market, RBFC, Canopy Crossroad and PLUG Naturals – are seeking to obtain a retail cannabis business license, according to the council’s resolutions.
Those four entities join Scarlet Reserve Room as potential cannabis business operators in Red Bank.
Scarlet Reserve Room’s proposal was acknowledged by the governing body in February. Scarlet Reserve Room is also seeking to obtain a retail cannabis business license.
The resolutions from Red Bank’s elected officials were requested by representatives of each entity as part of each entity’s application that will be submitted to the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
As stated in each resolution, the operator of a potential cannabis business is required to submit a resolution from the municipality in which the business may be located.
The resolutions certify the municipality has authorized the type of cannabis business license being sought in its jurisdiction and confirm that the issuance of the license would not exceed municipal limits for cannabis businesses, if there is a limit.
Red Bank’s resolution provides Next Chapter Market, RBFC, Canopy Crossroad and PLUG Naturals with the necessary information to submit their respective applications to the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
Under Red Bank’s ordinance pertaining to cannabis businesses, cannabis retailers are permitted to operate in the Business/Residential-1 zone and in the waterfront development district as a conditional use.
Cannabis retailers may only be located in buildings with other uses if the cannabis business is separated by full walls and has a separate entrance. No more than one cannabis business will be located on a single parcel, according to the ordinance.
According to the ordinance, cannabis retailers must provide a detailed security plan and receive approval of the security plan from the Red Bank Police Department.
Through the ordinance, Red Bank will impose a transfer and user tax to receive 2% of the receipts from each sale by cannabis retailers. The user tax will be imposed on any license holder operating more than one cannabis business.
In March, the governing body amended its ordinance to require municipal licenses from cannabis businesses seeking to operate in Red Bank.
The Borough Council established regulations for cannabis businesses following the enactment of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act, also known as A-21.
The law legalizes the recreational use (also known as adult use) of marijuana for certain adults, subject to state regulation; it decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of marijuana and hashish (a marijuana concentrate); and it removes marijuana as a Schedule I (high potential for abuse) drug.
A-21 established six marketplace classes of licensed marijuana businesses: cultivator, manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor, retailer and delivery. All six business types will be permitted in Red Bank.
