Runnemede City Zoning Code

All cannabis establishments Classes 1 through 6 located within the Borough shall meet all requirements for licensure and hold the appropriate license issued by the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, Department of Treasury, State of New Jersey.

No cannabis establishment shall permit on-site consumption of cannabis or cannabis-related products, including no on-site sales and consumption of alcohol or tobacco products.

No outside storage of any cannabis, cannabis products or cannabis-related materials shall be permitted.

Hours of operation of any cannabis retail facility shall be limited from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., seven days a week; however, hours of operation of any drive-through services of any cannabis retail facility shall be limited from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., seven days a week.

For each cannabis establishment located within the Borough, a security plan to be approved by the Runnemede Police Department shall be provided to demonstrate how the facility will maintain effective security and control of the operations. The plan should include the following, but not be limited to:

The Borough of Runnemede shall permit a maximum of four licenses for cannabis establishments of any classification from Classes 1 through 6. No more than two retail cannabis establishments of Class 5 shall be permitted within the Borough. Following the proper approvals by the State of New Jersey and the Runnemede Planning/Zoning Board, the Mayor and Council shall be responsible for the issuance of a final license.

All cannabis establishments, particularly Classes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, shall provide detailed information on odor control from these sites. This shall include air treatment systems with sufficient odor-absorbing ventilation and exhaust systems such that any odors generated inside the facility are not detectable by a person of reasonable sensitivity anywhere on adjacent property, within public rights-of-way, or within any other unit located in the same building if the use occupies a portion of a building.

All cannabis establishments shall provide for noise mitigation features designed to minimize disturbance from machinery, processing and/or packaging operations, loading and other noise-generating equipment or machinery. All licensed facilities must operate within applicable state decibel requirements.

Loitering, disruption to and/or obstruction of the free passage of persons or vehicles in the immediate vicinity of the property shall be considered unlawful.

All cannabis establishment operations such as cultivation, manufacturing, wholesale packaging and retail shall be conducted within a building. No operations shall be conducted outside.

Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 and Class 4 shall have minimum lot area of five acres.

No cannabis establishments shall be located within 200 feet of a house of worship, school, or day care.

Parking. Each cannabis establishment shall comply with the parking regulations. The following parking schedule shall be used to calculate the required number of off-street parking spaces per use. Where the calculation results in a fraction of a space, the required number of parking spaces shall be rounded to the nearest whole number.

Signage. Signage shall comply with section on signs and flagpole regulations of the Land Use Ordinance.

Pursuant to Section 40 of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement and Marketplace Modernization Act, a 2% municipal transfer tax shall be imposed on the lawful sale of cannabis on all sales or transfers of cannabis products from a licensed cannabis entity, as defined herein, except for the sales or transfers of cannabis products from a cannabis wholesaler, which shall be taxed at a percentage rate of 1% on all sales or transfers of cannabis products.

There is hereby established a cannabis user tax in the Borough of Runnemede at the same rates set forth in Subsection F(1) herein which shall apply to any licensed cannabis entity which holds concurrent licenses and operates more than one cannabis establishment. The cannabis user tax shall apply to the value of each transfer or use of cannabis or cannabis items not otherwise subject to the cannabis transfer tax from the licensed cannabis entity's establishments either without or outside the Borough of Runnemede.

The cannabis municipal tax shall be in addition to any other tax or fee imposed pursuant to statute or local ordinance or resolution by any governmental entity upon the lawful purchase of cannabis. Any transaction for which the transfer or user tax is imposed or could be imposed, pursuant to this section, other than those which generate receipts from retail sales by cannabis retailers shall be exempt from the tax imposed under the Sales and Use Tax Act.[1]

The transfer tax or user tax imposed by this article shall be collected or paid, and remitted to Runnemede by the cannabis establishment from the cannabis establishment purchasing or receiving the cannabis or cannabis item. The transfer tax or user tax shall be stated, charged, and shown separately on any sales slip, invoice, receipt or other statement or memorandum of the price paid or payable, or equivalent value of the transfer, for the cannabis or cannabis item.

Every cannabis establishment required to collect a transfer tax or user tax imposed by ordinance pursuant to this section shall be personally liable for the transfer tax or user tax imposed, collected, or required to be collected under this section. Any cannabis establishment shall have the same right with respect to collecting tax or user tax from another cannabis establishment as if the transferor user tax was part of the purchase price of the cannabis or cannabis item and payable at the same time; provided, however, that the Tax Collector of Runnemede shall be joined as a party in any action or proceeding brought to collect the transfer tax.

No cannabis establishment required to collect a transfer tax or user tax imposed by this section shall advertise or hold out to any person or to the public in general, in any manner directly or indirectly that the transfer tax or user tax will not be separately charged and stated to another cannabis establishment, or that the transfer tax or user tax will be refunded to the cannabis establishment.

All revenues collected from the transfer tax or user tax imposed by ordinance pursuant to this section shall be remitted to the Runnemede Chief Financial Officer on a quarterly basis payable for the prior three month's activities and due at the same time as quarterly dates for the collection of property taxes. The revenues due on February 1 of each year shall include all transfer taxes and user taxes collected for the immediate prior months of October, November, and December. The revenues due on May 1 of each year shall include all transfer taxes and user taxes collected for the immediate prior months of January, February and March. The revenues due on August 1 of each year shall include all transfer taxes and user taxes collected for the immediate prior months of April, May, and June. The revenues due on November 1 of each year shall include all transfer taxes and user taxes collected for the immediate prior months of July, August, and September. There shall be a ten-day grace period typically permitted for property tax payments. There shall be no extension of the cannabis transfer tax/user tax grace period without a resolution of the Governing Body authorizing a specific extension.

All payments to Runnemede shall be accompanied by certain supporting data and made in a manner prescribed by the Chief Financial Officer. The licensed cannabis entity operating within the Borough shall file on an annual basis no later than February 1 of each year a financial report from an independent accountant certifying as to the annual revenues for the preceding year.

The Chief Financial Officer or his/her designee shall collect and administer the local cannabis transfer tax and user tax imposed by this subsection. The Borough shall enforce the payment of delinquent local cannabis transfer tax in the same manner and at the same interest rates as provided for municipal real property taxes.

In the event that the local cannabis transfer tax and user tax imposed by this section is not paid as and when due by a cannabis business, the unpaid balance, and any interest accruing thereon, shall be a lien on the parcel of real property comprising the cannabis business in the same manner as all other unpaid municipal taxes, fees, or other charges. The lien shall be superior and paramount to the interest in the parcel of any owner, lessee, tenant, mortgagee or other person, except the lien of municipal taxes, and shall be on parity with and deemed equal to the municipal lien on the parcel for unpaid property taxes due and owing in the same year. The lien shall be enforced as a municipal lien in the same manner as all other municipal liens are enforced.

Each assumption or absorption by a licensee of the tax shall be deemed a separate offense and each representation or advertisement by a licensee for each day that the representation or advertisement continues shall be deemed a separate offense.

Any licensee who violates any of the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable for penalties or any combination thereof as set forth in the Code of the Borough of Runnemede, in the discretion of the Judge of the Municipal Court before whom such a violation is heard and conviction made. Each day that a violation occurs shall be deemed a separate and distinct violation, subject to the penalty provisions of this section.

A copy of this section shall be transmitted to the State Treasurer and to every licensed cannabis entity within the Borough of Runnemede.