From the South Orange Village Administration:
On Monday, August 9, 2021 the South Orange Board of Trustees passed a temporary “opt-out” ordinance prohibiting the operation of any class of cannabis business within the geographic boundaries of South Orange Village. This temporary prohibition covers commercial business licensing only and does not impact adult consumption as governed by state regulations.
New Jersey required municipalities to opt out by August 21, 2021 or be subject to unknown state regulations and requirements for 5 years. The temporary South Orange prohibition is in place pending the issuance of these state regulations, which are due to be released in late August.
This decision to temporarily opt out was recommended to the South Orange Board of Trustees by the Village’s Cannabis Task Force, which comprises elected officials, residents, business owners, planning consultants and legal counsel. The goal of the task force is to shape the future regulation of commercial cannabis businesses in South Orange.
New Jersey’s League of Municipalities also recommended that its members opt out for the time being “to preserve local governments’ rights to govern adult-use recreational cannabis sales within their communities.”
“By issuing a temporary ban now, we reserve our right to allow commercial cannabis businesses based on a full understanding of the state regulations and to preserve our ability to craft zoning and other regulations that best serve our community. We look forward to hosting a community-wide conversation on this topic in early fall,” said Trustee Bob Zuckerman, chair of the South Orange Cannabis Task Force.
After the task force reviews the state regulations and hosts the community-wide discussion(s) it will make its final recommendations to the Board of Trustees.
Questions can be emailed to Julie Doran, Deputy Administrator, at jdoran@southrorange.org
