Fort Lee City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXIII
Cannabis Establishments
§ 410-96 Cannabis establishment as conditional use.
[Amended 12-21-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-29]
Within the Highway Commercial (C-5) Zone District, cannabis establishments shall be a conditional use subject to the following conditions:
A.
No more than two Class 5 cannabis retailers shall be permitted in the Zone District, which shall include the conversion of any existing or previously approved Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary;
B.
Nothing contained herein shall preclude the operation of a medicinal cannabis dispensary and a Class 5 cannabis retailer at the same location when approved by the State of New Jersey;
C.
A medical cannabis dispensary, alternative treatment center, and a Class 5 cannabis retail establishment shall not be located within 900 feet of a preexisting primary or secondary school. Early learning centers, preschools, day-care centers, residential care homes, colleges, vocational/trade centers, shall not be classified as a school for the purposes of this section. The distance shall be measured from the main entrance to the main entrance.
(1)
Distances shall be measured in a straight line from the center of the entrance of the cannabis establishment to the closest point of its property line.
(2)
If the entrance is set back from the sidewalk by a walkway or doorway, the measurement is taken from the center of the line where the walkway/ doorway meets the sidewalk or curb.
(3)
For an establishment in a multi-story building, the building entrance at street level is to be used to guide the measurement.
(4)
Emergency/fire exits, maintenance access, and doors to gain access to nonpublic areas are not used in the measurement.
D.
All cannabis establishments shall obtain site plan approval from the Borough's Planning Board;
E.
For purposes of determining required parking, dispensaries shall be classified as "commercial retail";
F.
Drive-throughs shall be prohibited at all cannabis establishments;
G.
No cannabis or cannabis paraphernalia shall be displayed or kept at any cannabis establishment so as to be visible from outside the premises;
H.
No cannabis or cannabis product shall be smoked, eaten or otherwise consumed or ingested on the premises of any alternate treatment center; and
I.
A cannabis establishment shall not be located in a home, apartment or condominium.
§ 410-97 Licensing criteria.
A.
All cannabis establishments shall be subject to licensing requirements established herein. An existing or previously approved medicinal cannabis dispensary seeking to operate as both a medical cannabis dispensary and a Class 5 cannabis retailer may convert its existing license upon the submission of a new application and approval thereof by the Planning Board.
B.
All cannabis establishments seeking to operate in the Borough shall first complete a cannabis application form. The following documentation and information shall be provided to the Borough Clerk in conjunction with the cannabis application and site plan application:
(1)
A general description of the proposed structure in which the facility will be located, including cotenancy (if in a multitenant building), total square footage, description of ingress and egress, proposed exterior lighting plan and building code compliance;
(2)
The proposed days and hours of operation, the anticipated building occupancy capacity, and the average number of customers and employees anticipated to frequent the facility on a daily basis;
(3)
The anticipated parking demand and parking plan per the applicable schedule of off-street parking requirements and available private parking supply;
(4)
A traffic management plan depicting on-site traffic circulation, stacking and queuing and demonstrating the manner in which the facility's traffic will be managed so as to minimize the impact on adjacent roadways and neighborhoods;
(5)
A depiction of the site design, including access points and internal site circulation;
(6)
A proposed signage plan;
(7)
A plan for disposal of refuse, including disposal of any cannabis or cannabis by-products that are not sold to a purchaser or registered qualifying patient or caregiver which disposal method protects any portion thereof from being possessed or ingested by any person or animal and which complies with applicable federal, state and local regulations;
(8)
A plan describing the mitigation measures and ventilation system that will be used to prevent any odor of cannabis off the premises;
(9)
The name(s) and location(s) of the off-site cultivation facilities associated with a dispensary, if any;
(10)
A copy of the current state-approved license, and to the extent permitted by law, a copy of the operating and security procedures required by the Act;
(11)
The name and complete contact information of the licensee, its primary point of contact for the application available to respond to and cooperate with inquiries and requests made by the Borough Clerk, and the senior person responsible for management and operation of the proposed facility, which information shall be promptly updated as necessary;
(12)
Such other information or documentation as determined to be necessary to assess compliance with the requirements set forth or referenced herein;
(13)
An affidavit or certification affirming compliance with all requirements of state and local law and identifying any matters requiring variance or waiver relief;
(14)
Applications shall be submitted to the Borough Clerk and will be deemed complete upon submittal of all documentation and information described herein to the satisfaction of the Borough Clerk;
(15)
Subject to the provisions set forth below, an alternate treatment center's occupancy permit will be allocated to an applicant on a reserve basis based on the order the completed dispensary applications are received;
(16)
Upon the Borough Clerk's receipt of a completed dispensary application for an available dispensary occupancy permit, said available occupancy permit shall be temporarily reserved for the applicant at the location designated until such time that the application is withdrawn by the applicant or deemed expired. Minimal progress for a period of three or more months relative to obtaining the reserved available dispensary occupancy permit shall constitute a basis to deem the application expired; and
(17)
No dispensary application will be received or considered during a period when one dispensary occupancy permit has been issued or reserved.
C.
Coordination of safety and security measures. Applicants for a cannabis establishment shall coordinate with the Borough Chief of Police, or his or her designee, regarding the measures to be taken to ensure the security of the facility and the safety of the public and facility employees. Such measures may include, but are not limited to, facility access controls, surveillance systems, site lighting and on-site security personnel. Said coordination shall occur in conjunction with any application for a zoning permit or variance relief for a dispensary, cannabis cultivation, cannabis manufacturing or cannabis distributing facility that has been deemed complete by the zoning officer and shall be ongoing, as needed, to address any security or safety issues.
D.
Inspection. Subject to the requirements and limitations of state law, the Borough of Fort Lee shall have the reasonable right to inspect the premises of any approved medicinal cannabis dispensary during its regular hours of operation to ensure compliance with local ordinances and regulations.
E.
Public nuisance declared. Operation of any prohibited or unpermitted cannabis business establishment within the municipality in violation of the provisions of this chapter is hereby declared a public nuisance and shall be abated pursuant to all available remedies.
F.
Governing body approval of applications. Whenever the Cannabis Regulatory Commission established by the Act (the "Commission") forwards to the municipality any application for initial licensing or renewal of an existing license for any cannabis establishment pursuant to Section 19 of the Act or for a cannabis consumption area pursuant to Section 28 of P.L. 2019, c. 153 (N.J.S.A. 24:6I-21), or otherwise solicits the position of the municipality on any matter related to cannabis-related activities within the municipality, or upon the request of an applicant for or holder of such license, the governing body shall determine whether the application complies with the municipality's restrictions on the number of cannabis establishments and their location, manner or times of operation and promptly inform the Commission and the applicant for or holder of a license whether the application complies with same and whether it either approves or denies each application or other requirements for municipal authorization forwarded to it. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing herein shall prohibit any elected or appointed official or employee from expressing their opinions or views on cannabis-related matters in their personal or individual official capacity, or enforcing an applicant for or holder of a license issued by the Commission, provided that such official shall not represent that their opinions or views are those of the municipality unless based on a duly adopted ordinance or resolution of the municipality or other action of a majority of the governing body.
§ 410-98 Expansion of existing medicinal cannabis dispensary.
An existing or previously approved medicinal cannabis dispensary located in the Borough shall be permitted to expand its operations to sell cannabis to both cannabis medicinal patients as a medicinal cannabis dispensary and sell cannabis to the general public as a Class 5 cannabis retailer provided that such medicinal cannabis dispensary first obtains the appropriate state licensure permitting the expansion, has completed the local licensure process, paid all local fees, has not had its license revoked or suspended, and has previously completed all of the requirements set forth in §§ 410-96 and 410-97.