BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP — The Township Committee voted in December to allow the municipality to receive proposals for retail sales of cannabis.
Now that a business, New Frontier Solutions LLC, is interested in setting up shop in the township, some residents are not happy about it.
“We thought they (the Township Committee) had our best interests at heart. That was a big mistake,” said Sharon Corsiglia, 74, who has lived in the township for more than 50 years.
Mayor William Ruggieri declined to comment, citing the pending application.
The township has a Planning/Zoning Board meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday to consider whether New Frontier Solutions’ application is complete for the zoning process to permit a Class-5 retail cannabis dispensary at 614 Union Road.
If the application is deemed complete, a zoning hearing will be held during the same meeting concerning approvals including minor subdivision, minor site plan/conditional use, variance/use variance/bulk variances.
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The problem some residents have with the proposed cannabis retail business extends back to at least December.
The Township Committee introduced amendments to the township’s 2022 master plan for cannabis ordinances Dec. 12. It met again Dec. 27 to hold a public hearing and final vote not just on allowing retail cannabis sales, but also to accommodate cannabis cultivator, manufacturer, wholesale and distributor licenses.
Northfield became the second municipality to exit the Atlantic County Central Municipal Court last week for the Joint Municipal Court of Hammonton, joining Hamilton Township, which left in May. Leaders from those municipalities have cited net revenue for the court falling short of the expectations that had been set when they joined the central court in 2021.
“The ordinances were passed under the cover of the holidays between November and December,” Corsiglia said.
Only three members of the public spoke during the public hearing prior to the vote.
Dr. Robert Zlotnick, who works for Atlantic County Prevention, said he was against the ordinance.
John Armato, a former state assemblyman, spoke and opposed the ordinance, the meeting minutes said. He requested the licensing fees be put toward drug abuse prevention and requested cannabis be prohibited from being consumed in the parks.
Carlo Favretto Jr., a Buena Vista Township Board of Education member, said individuals younger than 25 should be prohibited from buying cannabis. He questioned whether the tax benefit is worth the risk and requested the money be used for drug abuse prevention.
Corsiglia lives about seven houses away from the proposed retail cannabis business, but said she did not learn about the application until last month. Corsiglia’s son received a letter about the proposal because he lives within 200 feet of the location and he is a volunteer firefighter whose firehouse is also within 200 feet of the site.
In neighboring Vineland, where licenses for medical and adult-use cannabis are permitted, a person can smell the scent of marijuana for two miles, Corsiglia said.
The proposed business is at Landis and Union avenues. There are already about 100 signs up on Landis Avenue and elsewhere within the township saying, “No Cannabis in Buena Vista Township,” Corsiglia said.
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During the Township Committee meeting in December when the retail cannabis sales ordinance was approved, Armato asked during the public hearing, “Do you see any interest today of anyone wanting to open up a retail shop in the township?”
Mayor Ruggieri said, “No.”
Donna Casazza Virunurm, 59, who lives in Vineland but whose father owns more than 10 acres of land within a few hundred feet of the proposed marijuana shop, is skeptical of the mayor’s answer.
“The N.J. Cannabis Regulatory Commission licenses take months to finish and be approved, and a license application requires stating the intended location,” Virunurm said. “It is unbelievable that the mayor and committeemen were not fully aware of New Frontier Solutions’ intentions to operate a cannabis retail facility at the corner of Landis Avenue and Union Road prior to Dec. 27.”
Virunurm said she is not against cannabis retail sales, but she doesn’t want it at that location with all the variances and waivers the developer needs.
There have been other residents who have had to suffer to abide by the regulations of the Planning/Zoning Board, and exceptions should not be made for New Frontier, she said.
The beauty of the rural farming and residential area still exists there and should be maintained as long as possible, she added.
St. Mary’s School, at 735 Union Road, may be just beyond 1,000 feet away, but it is within a half mile of the proposed marijuana shop.
BUENA — The Borough Council voted Monday to appoint Richard Giovinazzi as its newest member.
“It’s just too close,” Virunurm said.
There is a NJ Transit bus stop at the location, which will lead to a great deal of foot traffic, and Merighi’s Savoy Inn and Luna’s Outdoor Bar & Grill are across the street. It is a main attraction and is well known for weddings, children’s parties and other events, Virunurm said.
“There has been a severe lack of transparency. There was no cannabis task force. This has been rushed,” Virunurm said.
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