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Planning board approves proposed dispensary at 140 Essex Street with conditions
Summary
The Lodi Planning Board approved a conditional-use and preliminary/final site-plan application for Baked Rooster LLC at 140 Essex Street, imposing conditions that the applicant verify a 2,000-foot separation from the Apothecarium by survey and clean the rear lot within 30 days before a resolution is finalized.
The Lodi Planning Board on Jan. 14 voted to approve an application from Baked Rooster LLC to open a retail cannabis dispensary at 140 Essex Street, subject to several conditions including a verified 2,000-foot separation from an existing dispensary and cleanup of the rear parking lot.
The application was presented by the applicant’s representative and owner Robert Anzillotti, who described his background in law enforcement, a security-focused retail plan and interior renovations. Architect Jeffrey Lewis testified that the 1,235-square-foot building will undergo interior-only renovations, creating a 560-square-foot showroom and a 92-square-foot vault for product and cash. Anzillotti told the board the store would operate within the borough hours (9 a.m.–9 p.m.), employ three to four staff per shift and rely on state-mandated “seed-to-sale” inventory tracking.
The board asked detailed questions about security and deliveries. Anzillotti said the plan includes camera coverage of interior and exterior areas with 24/7 police access, badge-and-card access for employees, tiered access to the vault and a retention policy for camera footage that he estimated would meet or exceed state minimums (applicant said the install would preserve at least 60 days and likely 90 days of footage). Deliveries, he said, would be by small vehicles (cars or sprinter vans) and infrequent for the proposed 1,100–1,300-square-foot space.
Planner/staff raised a zoning condition in the borough ordinance that retail cannabis uses be at least 2,000 feet from the existing Apothecarium on Route 17. The application did not include a survey showing the required separation; the applicant agreed to obtain a professional measurement and the board made that verification a condition of approval. The planner also required the applicant to remediate debris and remove pallets from the rear lot; the board set a 30-day timeframe for that cleanup, to be memorialized in the resolution.
The board’s motion approved preliminary and final site-plan and conditional-use relief while noting variances listed in the application are preexisting. The resolution will include language authorizing the borough to issue a certificate of occupancy once the applicant receives a final inspection and license from the state regulatory authority. The vote to approve was carried by roll call.
Next steps: the applicant must provide a survey confirming the 2,000-foot separation, complete the lot cleanup within the allotted time, and finish the interior construction. No store may open until the state completes its final inspection and issues the operating license.
