Cannabis Cultivator Use Approved By Red Bank Planners

RED BANK, NJ — The borough Planning Board has approved a cannabis growing business to operate on East Leonard Street, pending some alterations to the facility's exterior fencing and landscaping.

Applicant Susan Duckworth, owner of the site at 15 E. Leonard St., was given approval by a vote of 7-1 Dec. 5 to change the use of the property from existing warehouse/commercial uses to a cannabis cultivator facility operating on the site, as permitted by borough ordinance.

Attorney Edward J. McKenna Jr., representing the applicant, said the owners of the site are working with the borough engineer to change the proposed chain-link fencing around the exterior of the site to another type of fencing.

Also, he said the height of a security fence closer to the buildings at the site will be redesigned to be lower than the exterior fence, as requested by the borough.

The owners are also working with the borough on certain landscaping changes requested by the board.

McKenna said the Planning Board next meets Dec. 19 and he expects these final changes will be completed by then, but the application has been approved.

The cannabis growing operation will be completely indoors, with air filtered to prevent any odors from escaping the facility, the applicants have said.

There are four warehouse buildings on the site, two of which will contain the growing and drying operations for the plants. A third building will house the office and security functions and the fourth will be a storage building, which will also contain all trash indoors, McKenna said.

The site will have security guards and cameras and there will be no retail sales or a dispensary at the site.

Cannabis businesses are legally allowed to operate in the borough, under an ordinance passed unanimously by the borough council in 2021.

The borough will collect a 2 percent tax from cultivator, manufacturer and retailer sales and 1 percent from wholesalers.

Duckworth and her family are longtime area residents and property owners, according to McKenna.

Alexander Federico, the director of operations at Full Spectrum Biotech in California, who will partner with Duckworth in this business, said at the meeting the warehouse would only handle bulk wholesale of the product and not be involved in any retail sales, according to an article in app.com.