SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — 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 at its Aug. 9 meeting. 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 Aug. 21 or be subject to unknown state regulations and requirements for the next five 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 opt out temporarily 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.
The New Jersey 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,” said Trustee Bob Zuckerman, chairperson of the South Orange Cannabis Task Force. “We look forward to hosting a communitywide conversation on this topic in early fall.”
After the task force reviews the state regulations and receives input from the community, it will make its final recommendations to the South Orange Board of Trustees.
Questions can be emailed to Julie Doran, the village’s deputy administrator, at jdoran@southrorange.org.
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