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Council questions outreach and proximity after local support for Kind Buds cannabis retailer is reintroduced
Summary
City planning staff reintroduced a resolution to provide local support for Kind Buds Jersey City LLC at 545 Newark Avenue, prompting council questions about whether the applicant completed required community outreach and about proximity to an earlier-approved dispensary.
City planning staff presented a resolution requesting local support for Kind Buds Jersey City LLC to operate a Class 5 retail cannabis business at 545 Newark Avenue, a request that prompted an extended caucus discussion about community outreach and the order of competing applications.
Staff told the council the application was approved by the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) on Nov. 13, 2023 and by the planning board on Feb. 25, 2025. Several council members said the application had previously been voted down by the council because of concerns over whether the applicant had completed the community outreach requested by the CCB and whether outreach records were on file.
Michael Daniel, the owner of Kind Buds, told the council he personally met with the Hilltop community group and that he was the only applicant who sat with that community at that time. “I was actually the only person that did meet with the community,” Daniel said, and he said representatives from the community later informed the CCB that the meeting had occurred.
Fuqua Muzan, a partner at the law firm Fox Rothschild who represents the applicant, said his client is “among the most qualified” and that the operator is a local business owner. Council members asked Daniel and his counsel to provide a written account of outreach efforts and asked Councilman Bogiano’s office to clarify prior communications; the council president asked staff to confer with neighborhood leaders and Bogiano’s office and to provide that documentation before the council considers a final vote.
City staff (Maynard) provided a timeline for competing applicants: Neon Heights submitted its application Oct. 3, 2022, received CCB approval Dec. 12, 2022, planning board approval May 9, 2023, and city council approval Aug. 16, 2023. Staff said Kind Buds’ application did not submit before Neon Heights had reached that approval milestone. Several council members noted the proximity of the other approved dispensary and cautioned about opening another retail outlet in close physical proximity; council members also emphasized the need for consistent application of rules.
The resolution to provide local support for Kind Buds was placed on the upcoming council agenda for formal consideration; no final council vote occurred during the caucus.
