Residents ask council to back New Jersey 'Climate Superfund' bill; complaints about idling trucks and cannabis licensing raised

Public commenters at the Feb. 25 Franklin Township Council meeting pressed the council to support a state-level climate liability bill, reported persistent truck idling and related neighborhood nuisance, and asked the council to reconsider township rules that block new cannabis dispensaries.

Robert Scott Payne of Amazoka Court opened public comment urging the council to adopt a resolution backing the New Jersey Climate Superfund Act, saying the measure would require large carbon polluters to fund remediation and adaptation projects. "The cost of climate change is climbing yearly. Action is needed now. I support passing the resolution," Payne said.

Other residents, including Bernadette Marr and Linda Powell, also voiced support for the resolution during the public comment period.

Carol Peterson, of Lake Avenue, complained about idling trucks and related nighttime disturbances in her Spring Hill and Lake neighborhood, saying the noise and fumes have made it difficult to sleep. "We are sick and tired of being awakened every night, not once, not twice, sometimes for 4 or 5 hours as trucks are sitting," Peterson said. She asked the township to investigate and consider no-idling signage and enforcement in the area.

Marcel Rodriguez, who identified his business as WeShop CBD on Hamilton Street, told the council his store applied to the Cannabis Regulatory Commission and said township approval is now blocking completion of a dispensary license under a November 2024 ordinance. "We are originally a health and wellness store," Rodriguez said, describing his store's community ties and asking the council to consider changes that would allow businesses already in the application pipeline to open as dispensaries.

Township staff and council members answered during the meeting. The township manager and other officials told Rodriguez and other callers that the current ordinance stands and that the council would have to vote to change it. Township staff also explained that the ordinance sets a cap and that, at the time the ordinance passed, the count of qualifying licenses was used to establish that cap; the state later issued more licenses than initially expected. The manager said the township was informed the state had issued 23 licenses for Franklin but the ordinance had set a threshold of 18 and that new openings would be allowed only if the number falls below the cap or the council adopts a change.

Council members thanked residents who raised the Climate Superfund Act and said the item had been placed on the consent agenda for consideration that night.

No binding municipal change to the cannabis ordinance was made at the meeting; the township indicated existing ordinance language prevents new shops from opening without a further council vote.