Company seeks to reuse 55 Midland Ave. Extension for cannabis packaging and distribution, not retail; board raises questions on odor control, security and truck

An applicant presented a proposal at the July 2025 Middletown Planning Board meeting to operate a cannabis packaging and distribution facility at 55 Midland Avenue Extension in the I‑2 zone. The applicant said the operation would be warehouse/package/distribution only — not retail sales to the public — and that the facility lies partially in the city and partially in the town of Wallkill.

Why it matters: The proposal raises questions common to indoor cannabis manufacturing and distribution — odors, security, traffic/delivery patterns, workforce size and jurisdictional permitting — and the board spent an extended portion of the meeting asking for details.

Project summary provided by applicants - Site and use: Applicant representatives said the parcel is about 3.8 acres and the existing building is about 33,000 square feet; they said no exterior expansion is proposed other than re‑striping parking.

- Proposed operations: The company described use as packaging/pre‑roll manufacturing and wholesale distribution to licensed retailers; they stated they will not sell to the public on site.

- Employment and parking: The applicant reported about 60 employees (30 per shift over two shifts). The site plan shows 30 parking spaces and ADA spaces at the front entrance; the applicant relied on the zoning rule of 1 space per 2 employees to match parking needs.

- Deliveries and truck traffic: Initially the applicant said a 26‑foot box truck would service the site a couple times a week and a semi truck would deliver raw materials a couple times a month; once manufacturing is installed the 26‑foot truck would be phased out and van deliveries would leave daily to retailers.

- Security and odor control: Applicant said the facility would have 24‑hour security with national monitoring, internal searches similar to airport‑style screening at entry points (metal detection), alarm/panic systems and two perimeter fences. For odor control the applicant said all HVAC would recirculate internal air, and carbon scrubbers and other filtration would remove odors; the applicant described past facilities in other states with no odor complaints.

- Licensing and jurisdictional notes: The applicant said it holds state licensing to operate in the state and currently operates at another site; the firm will seek local CUP/site approvals. The applicant and planning attorney discussed jurisdictional overlap because portions of the parcel are in Middletown and portions are in the town of Wallkill; the applicant said they reached out to Wallkill and are on that town’s work session agenda next week. The applicant said the use is categorized for zoning purposes as a pharmaceutical/industrial use under the city code and they are not proposing on‑site retail sales.

Board questions and clarifications Board members asked about odor mitigation, security procedures, the number and frequency of trucks, high‑pile storage, workforce pay and whether retail sales could take place on the Wallkill side of the site. The applicants clarified: - No high‑pile storage is proposed. - The vans that distribute product to retailers would typically depart in the morning and return at night; on full operations that would be the main vehicle activity with only a couple of semis per month for raw materials. - The applicant stated they do not intend to sell to the public from the site at any time; sales would be to licensed retailers only. - Applicant described wage ranges: roughly $20/hour for service‑level positions, leadership roles around $65,000/year and senior management in the six‑figure range (as stated by the applicant).

Next steps and timeline provided by applicant The applicant said it expects to pursue a local CUP and related reviews; it estimated conditional‑use permitting would take on the order of 60 days (absent obstacles), engineering review about 45 days, and an approximate four‑month buildout after approvals, placing potential operations in a late‑Q1 timeframe. The applicant will provide renderings, coordinate with city engineering and follow the CUP/site‑plan process. The board did not take a vote on this application at the meeting.

Who said what - Ryan Fellinger (presenter) and Dan Burchard (national expansion director, introduced on the record) spoke for the applicant and answered technical and operational questions.