RED BANK: POT SHOP GOING FOR LONG SHOT?

Two River Green hopes to convert the laundromat behind Strollo’s Lighthouse Italian Ice to a cannabis store. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)

UPDATE: The hearing for this application was postponed to April 15 to give officials more time to review the plans submitted. 

By BRIAN DONOHUE

Even though Red Bank already has issued all three of the retail cannabis licenses allowed by ordinance to other sellers, a seemingly optimistic would-be pot shop owner goes before the planning board Monday to try to force a fourth.

The interior of Monteverde NJ, the only operating retail cannabis shop in Red Bank. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)

Two River Green LLC will ask the board for conditional use and minor site plan approval for a licensed cannabis retail facility at 54 North Bridge Avenue, directly behind Strollo’s Lighthouse Italian Ice, according to an agenda issued late Friday.

The applicant proposes no modifications other than the addition of a van-accessible parking space and a handicap ramp to meet the requirements of the American with Disabilities Act.

The Red Bank Laundry Center currently operates at the location, and employees expressed surprise Sunday when a redbankgreen reporter told them about the application. 

Two River Green may get planning board approval for the building. But the big question is: how will they get a license to sell cannabis? 

The borough has already issued all three of the licenses created under the retail marijuana ordinance it amended last year. 

The process of crafting that law was a chaotic and messy one that prompted one retailer to pack up and leave town, calling it a “shit show.”

The town legalized retail cannabis in 2021, but the council passed changes to the ordinance in 2023, including the three-license limit. That prompted threats of legal action by business owners who thought they had the green light and said they would lose money they had already invested in their businesses. 

Litigation is still a possibility, it seems. At a  council meeting last month, officials went into closed session to discuss possible marijuana-related litigation. 

Borough Attorney Greg Cannon told redbankgreen via email that no lawsuit has been filed, but noted a fourth applicant, The Garden At Red Bank has emerged, and was “told [it] will be placed on a waitlist for if/when one of the first three licenses becomes available or the ordinances change again (albeit there are no plans by the current administration to change the ordinances at this time).”

That fourth applicant, he said, has threatened a lawsuit against the town.

Mayor Billy Portman said there are no current plans to increase the number of licenses beyond three.

Of the three retailers issued licenses, only one is up and running: Monteverde NJ, located almost directly across North Bridge Avenue from Two River Green’s proposed site.

The board meeting  begins at 7 p.m. at borough hall and can be watched on Zoom, though only in-person attendees may ask questions or comment. A full agenda can be found here.

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