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Zoning Board approves Garden River LLC expansion of cannabis cultivation at 141-143 Russell Ave.
Summary
The Borough of South River Zoning Board voted unanimously to allow Garden River, LLC to expand licensed cannabis cultivation to the first floor of its Russell Avenue building, increasing the facility to roughly 8,700 square feet across two floors. Board members pressed the applicant on security, odor control and potential first-floor flooding before approving the use and parking variances.
The Borough of South River Zoning Board of Adjustments on Sept. 24 approved an application by Garden River, LLC to expand cannabis cultivation into the first floor of its building at 141-143 Russell Ave., adding to an earlier approval for the second floor and creating roughly 8,700 square feet of cultivation area.
Attorney George Pressler and planner James Higgins said the proposal is an expansion of an existing indoor cultivation operation and that the use would not intensify the building’s industrial character. Engineer and company president Ibrahim Khalifa described planned filtration and waste-disposal measures and said the operation would coordinate with other tenants on the third floor for manufacturing and security. "All guidelines set forth by the State will be adhered to," Khalifa said. The Board asked about product distribution and air quality; Khalifa and architect Lawrence Johnson testified about expected employee counts, hours and the proposed filtration system. Borough Engineer Bruce Koch urged that the applicant anticipate potential flooding impacts on the first floor, noting water historically has risen in that area by about "a couple of feet."
After public comment was closed, the Board voted to approve File ZB-2024-07. The roll call in favor was Sandra Adelino, Ruell Brown, Nick Giannakopoulos, Jeremiah O'Grady, Edward Trygar, John Frost and Chairman Robert Bodak; there were no votes opposed or abstentions. The approval included a site-plan waiver, a D1 use variance and a parking variance for cultivation on both the first and second floors.
