Cannabis Sales Could Be Banned in Chester

CHESTER, NJ - Chester Township and Borough’s governing bodies are weighing their options in permitting or prohibiting cannabis business operations within each of their municipalities.

On Tuesday night, an ordinance is up for adoption in Chester Township to disallow any type of cannabis business. Chester Borough will also introduce a similar ordinance on Tuesday night, should its ordinance committee give a green light before its council meeting.

Chester Borough Mayor Janet Hoven and Chester Township Mayor Marcia Asdal each said in separate interviews with Patch on Tuesday morning, that municipalities have been given limited time to decide on allowing cannabis businesses after the public voted on permitting the use of recreational marijuana by individuals 21 years and up, in November.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act into law on Feb. 22. Murphy, however, agreed to revise the Act in March, which would permit law enforcement to notify parents of first-time underage pot offenses, a provision not in the original law.

Municipalities were told to make a decision on businesses by mid-June, both Hoven and Asdal said, with having little information about cannabis business operations, with an ordinance on the books required by Aug. 22.

The State of New Jersey provided each municipality with an ordinance template to permit or prohibit all cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers or delivery services, to operate within their borders.

Hoven and Asdal each said that once a municipality makes a decision to permit cannabis businesses, it is locked in for five years.

Hoven said should Chester Borough decide to prohibit cannabis business operations, there will be more time for borough officials to speak to members of the community on the topic.

“This is something we have to give some thought,” Hoven said.

Asdal, who is one member of the Chester Township Council siding with the prohibition of cannabis business operations for now, agreed with Hoven.

“This ordinance, it gives us some breathing room,” she said. “By adopting the ordinance, it gives the Planning Board some time. We don’t want to be locked into something that will be grandfathered. We don’t want to do something that another council could bear the burden.”

Asdal said should a municipality decide to permit a recreational or medical cannabis operation within its borders, it can always adopt an ordinance in the future, with the township’s prohibition ordinance stating it “would be to prohibit all such uses within the Act’s 180-day period in order to ensure sufficient time to carefully review all aspects of the Act and its impact.”

While Asdal recognized that three-quarters of the township voted to legalize recreational marijuana, she said if a business prohibition ordinance were adopted, it could provide time to analyze proper zoning.

Both Hoven and Asdal said Chester Borough and Township are doing their due diligence to understand the full scope of cannabis business operations, while the state is in the process of forming its own commission on the topic.

“Everyone’s [in Chester Township] been going to webinars to get as much information as possible,” Asdal said.

Both zoom meetings begin at 7 p.m, with Chester Borough’s meeting information here:
And Chester Township’s here.

Questions or comments about this story? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.