By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – At the Red Bank Borough Council meeting Sept. 14, the council passed a resolution acknowledging that the cannabis cultivation business proposed by G Tree’s, LLC is allowed in the borough. The resolution will be part of G Tree’s New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission application and does not approve a license at this time. G Tree’s joins nearly a dozen other entities that have proposed cannabis-related businesses in the borough.
Luke McCann, a lawyer and business development manager for Absolute Home Mortgage Corp. in Red Bank, represented G Tree’s at the meeting.
“We really want to be a part of cannabis here at Red Bank,” McCann said. He noted the company has purchased property between Bridge Avenue and the railroad tracks which is zoned for cannabis-related businesses by the Red Bank Planning Department. “We’ve locked up the property at 4 Catherine St.,” McCann said, a site in the borough’s industrial zone.
G Tree’s is proposing a 10,000-square-foot, state-of- the-art cultivating facility on the property. “We’ve already had the survey done and we’re having the environmental done within a week,” McCann said.
He explained that the company was named after a family member, Greg, who passed away from a rare form of childhood cancer 15 years ago. McCann said marijuana played a big part in Greg’s treatment, getting him through chemotherapy. “That’s really where we saw the science and the power of marijuana,” he said.
As part of the request, McCann told the council G Tree’s will put a façade on the warehouse facility so it blends with properties in the area and is appealing to local residents.
According to New Jersey’s CREAMM (Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization) Act, municipalities have the authority to enact ordinances or regulations governing the number of cannabis establishments within their borders. Each city, town, township, village or borough is responsible for establishing its own rules for getting local approval to operate a cannabis business in the jurisdiction.
As per the CREAMM Act, the Red Bank Borough Council issued regulations for cannabis businesses that provide legal recreational marijuana for adults. According to A-21, all the six marijuana business types including, retailer, supplier, grower, wholesaler, manufacturer, and distributor will be allowed in Red Bank. The borough will also levy a 2% transfer and user tax from each sale from cannabis businesses.
The council has not yet approved any licenses for any cannabis business in the borough.
The article originally appeared in the September 22 – 28, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
