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Local cannabis retailer seeks town approval after state licensing delays; council cites ordinance cap
Summary
A Hamilton Street cannabis retailer asked council for town approval after the Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) requested updated paperwork; council members said the township limited the number of cannabis facilities to 18 and only CRC-licensed applicants at the time of that ordinance amendment were grandfathered.
Marcel Rodriguez, owner of B Shop CBD at 657 Hamilton Street, urged the township council during public comment to grant the town approval letter required by the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission so his store can move forward with a retail cannabis license.
Rodriguez said his business has operated in the township since 2019 (initially selling CBD products and later applying to sell retail cannabis) and that he submitted the township paperwork in February 2022. He told the council that the CRC has repeatedly asked for updates and that he received a recent CRC request for a town approval letter. Rodriguez said he had invested in legal and application costs and asked the council to include his business among the limited number of township approvals.
Township officials responded that the council had amended a local ordinance to cap licensed cannabis facilities at 18 and that the amendment grandfathered only those applicants who had a CRC license at the time the ordinance was adopted. The mayor and other council members said Rodriguez's application did not have a state license at the time the ordinance was enacted and therefore did not meet the grandfathering criteria. The township manager confirmed that only applicants with state CRC licenses at the time of the amendment were included in the capped group.
Council members and staff explained that the local ordinance was intended to address perceived oversaturation and that the cap was applied to the set of applicants who had secured state approval. No formal council motion to change the ordinance or to grant a discretionary exception was made at the meeting.
Council members encouraged affected applicants to work with township staff and the CRC to address outstanding application requirements.
