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Township committee postpones public hearing on cannabis ordinance for revision and more review
Summary
The Woodland Township Committee agreed to remove Ordinance 2024-8 (cannabis establishments) from tonight's agenda and reintroduce a revised version in January after land-use-board recommendations and public input, citing zoning and buffer concerns.
The Woodland Township Committee agreed at a workshop meeting to remove Ordinance 2024-8, the proposed cannabis-establishments ordinance, from tonight's agenda and to reintroduce a revised version after further review and public input.
Clark Brown, who helped lead the discussion, said: "I would suggest removing this from the agenda period so it dies, reintroducing it, and then re advertising the public hearing in 2025 so we have we don't have a compressed window to consider and get it done." He and other members cited land-use-board recommendations and anticipated significant public comment as reasons to delay.
Committee members described the main points under consideration: whether to require bulk/yard compliance for all cannabis establishments or to exclude class 5 retail licenses at the applicant's request; whether to limit one license per business type; and how to define an educational facility for a proposed 5-mile buffer from schools and day-care centers. The clerk noted the township had received written comments from the land use board and emails from the applicant.
On public-safety concerns, one committee member said they had met with Mary Albright, who "said there's no significant data that shows that there's no increase in crime that's put around 1 of these distributions," and noted licensed facilities must maintain required security systems. Committee members debated what types of nearby facilities should trigger buffer protections and whether a change of use at the proposed site would disqualify any grandfathering.
The discussion also touched on local revenue and statutory timing: members referenced a 2% share of sales and noted that because the township did not opt out in 2021 it would face timing constraints if it attempted to opt out now.
The committee's decision to pull the ordinance from the agenda was procedural: members said they will revise the draft to reflect land-use-board input and community feedback, then re-advertise and hold a public hearing on the revised ordinance in the new year. No formal vote on the ordinance took place tonight.
