##VIDEO ID:_ruGDhAK_LM## silence the October meeting of 2024 for frankon Township zoning board is now in session rise for the national [Music] Anem of the United States of America Two Republic which stands one nation God indivisible andice for all okay the notice of this meeting has been as required at the open public meeting Act and the annual notice of meetings a copy was posted in Township website notice of this meeting was sent to the Sentinel and a copy was posted here in the municipal building Mr Gano Mr Leo here Mr Ketchum here Mr gell here Mr desar here Mr haml here Mr felisi here Mr glaus here chairman gravy uh we all look at the minutes of the last meeting shall we uh make a motion to be approved second all in favor any opposed or any [Music] exensions just want to inform the public anybody here for visconte Mr uh belli has an announcement to make on that regard yes anyone here for Visconti Brothers Properties LLC for an amended major site plan application that's at 4801 Lake Road they are have requested a postponement um they will now be heard on Wednesday November 6th so it's not a Tuesday because the election a Wednesday now Wednesday November 6th at 7:00 at this location if you here for that you will not be getting any additional notice because it did properly provide notice already if anybody's here T that you're welcome to leave if you [Music] wish okay we're going to hear uh ZB 242 under uh Gard State [Music] Harvest theate har can you [Music] talk so I represent Garden State Harvest um the contract purchaser of the property at 1746 Stanton Avenue it's uh lck 1,23 Lots 8 9 and 10 on your tax uh the property is located in your ra residential agricultural Zone and comp pay an existing vacant School building uh this is an application for you experience approval to convert the existing building into a state licensed class one and Class 2 cannabis cultivation and processing facility um with this application we are seeking use variance approval only um we have bated at this application so that if the use variance is approved we will come back to the board with site plans um to seek site plan approval from the board in other words we ask the board to approve theose use with the understanding that board will have further opportunity to review the specifics of the site and the layout of the site and the proposed development of um the site before before the business can become operational um now I understand this board has seen other class one class 2 cannabis cultivation and processing uh facility applications some of which have been denied um for various reasons so before we get into the testimony tonight I think it's worth emphasizing that this proposed development has some key distinctions which we feel are important um to emphasize they make the those distinctions really do make this development particularly suited for this prop um now this eel here in the testimony tonight is a micro business so it is small in scale just a few hundred plants um proposed for cultivation um it has a limit on the number of employees the operations are small enough that all of those operations can be can be conducted fully inside the existing buildings um without any significant new development being required or proposed uh because the operation is indoors the applicant is able to control the environment uh control the operations and put systems into place to address among other things odor which is always an issue that comes up on cannabis applications um now you'll hear testimony tonight from our witnesses that the systems that we will put in place um to address odor make um will demonstrate that odor is not going to be a significant concern on this application the applicant is proposing a state-of-the-art Odor Control System which utilizes what's known as a nanop particle atomizer uh the system renders over modu inert um effectively neutralizing them um so in other words we feel confident there's not going to be any adverse odor impact from this proposed use um there won't be any noise impact there won't be any light impact the business is only going to be operational during daytime business hours closing at approximately 6:00 p.m. um there's minimal traffic uh because the small number of employees on the site the fact that there's no retail component this is purely employees on site with the few um periodic delivery um pardon me deliveries and periodic loading just just a few uh deliveries on a given week um so from a traffic standpoint there's also going to be minimal if any impact from this propos use as I as I alluded to earlier there's going to be no retail component of this of this operation this is purely cultivation of a plant and processing of a plant and of course there is no consumption of any kind of cannabis on the property um this is purely the grow and processing of a plants within the existing building with all the environmental controls that are be testified to by the African and which I related to earlier so based on all of that and for the testimony that you'll hear through um pardon me after our Witnesses we think it's clear that the nature of this proposed micro business within the existing building make it a perfect fit for this site um and it's not only the scale of the use that c me to say that but as I'm sure the board the board is all aware this site houses a former School building it's been taken dilapidated become blighted over the past 20 some odd years it's not in the best of shape um it's been abandoned and blighted for a long time it's being vandalized constantly um it's overgrown proposes to buy this property from the current owner and bring this building back to life um to adapted our reuse this existing structure you bring this building back onto your C and and keep this building from being an is now as I mentioned uh we are here tonight seeking use variance approval under the law to be granted a use variance it's our burden to establish certain proofs on the positive criteria and the negative criteria we think it's clear that a use variance is well justified in this case so with respect to the positive criteria the use variance may be granted where the board finds that the propos use will meet one or more purposes of zoning including that the site is particularly suited for this use for those reasons I went through earlier we we believe it's clear that this site is particularly suited for this particular use it's the micro business fits put in existing improvements on the site the minimal need for new improvements and I and this use allows on this building to be brought back to life in addition uh to the use of the structure the use it's um I really well online with a permitted uses in your zone so um this is of course an agricultural Zone and garden F Harvest intends to implement an an agricultural use of this property um through a process um known as controlled environmental controlled environmental agriculture otherwise known as cbaa it's a fast developing field of Agriculture um which provides for more controlled environment and a more efficient Crop Production now these are operations which take place in agricultural businesses throughout the region and Garden State part intends to utilize those same types of operations here now um and that's in the context of this particular crop um the same use that we are proposing here tonight would would be permitted for this property in this zone for any other CR um it's solely the specifics as to this crop which require use [Music] variance um but in light of the similar processes the similar operations that are going to be conducted similar to any other agricultural AR an operation um we think that this use is going to be entirely consistent with the agricultural operations that are permitted in this in this Zone and for this property so uh we think this propos is particularly Suited um is particularly suitable from a zoning standpoint as well now with respect to the negative criteria we must show is proposed use will not cause a substantial detriment uh to the public or to your or to your master plan or ordinance again we think it's clear there will be no substantial detrimental impact uh now that's because of those reasons I already went through briefly earlier uh the small scale of the business the minimal traffic impact of the business the lack of odor the the lack of noise or the lack of lighting impacts for all intents and purposes this is a business that neighbors are unlikely to even know exists on a day-to-day basis and for those reasons and others that you'll hear through through the testimony of our Witnesses we think it's clear we think it's clear that this use satisfies the negative criteria for the grant of the you experience as well now here with me tonight ericon the principal of G St harvis hold on one second can you have them come forward I need your Witnesses and and that are going to you're going to use I'd like to swear them in sir raise your right hand swear to tell the truth nothing but the truth I hope you got well you got one more one more you got to tell the truth on your testimony okay your name and addresses to the secretary please start 216 Mor thank [Music] [Music] you professional engineer 2205 DC drive frankville and Tiffany Mory m o r r i SS e y the question Drive in gway professional planner thank you [Music] goture this is the wrong no it's his mic I think yeah speak like at the talent show you have to get on people in the is this better okay so this close all right you could probably raise that up a little bit there the little adjustment right in the middle I mean you don't have to bend over that [Music] way all right hopefully this is better yeah I think it's got to be a couple inches from the yeah I'll do my best to stay close right um so we will have testimony from the four planned Witnesses who were just uh sworn in and I also have a few exhibits all right so we do have planed testimony from the four uh the four Witnesses who were just sworn in and I do have some planned exhibits which I can hand out to the board uh now but with those introductory comments I will hand out the exhibits and then I'd like to call uh Mr Gilmore to to provide testimony [Music] first yeah thank you [Music] [Music] just for the record I'll identify these exhibits uh the first is A1 which is a rendered copy of the site plan that was submitted with the application A2 is a collection of photos of the property I'm sorry A2 is a photo of the exterior of the property A3 is a photograph of the interior of the property a four is another photograph of the interior of the [Music] property as is A5 A6 is an te of rendering of the proposed [Music] improvements A7 is a proposed FL plan and a consist of two pages and A8 is the proposed security plan [Music] [Music] before your start I'll need your bonafides Please Mr Gilmore can you give the board a brief overview of your qualifications yes I have the Bachelor's of civil engineering production University I'm a licensed professional engineer state New Jersey um I have about 35 years of experience in civil engineering I run site civil engineering here in town as a principal and um I've been accepted by various municipalities throughout New Jersey as an expert in civil engineering okay that's good thank you all right uh Mr Gilmore uh your office prepared um a use variance plan for this application is that correct um and exhibit A1 is a rendered copy of that plan correct corre all right um just by reference to the plan um can you just um get a brief overview of what's existing on site currently I lost my e e last year so so this is the color rendering as Chris described to the plan wor this straight up on the plan Shan Avenue is horizontal on the page on the top and Stanton Avenue was on the left hand side vertical on the page the colored area of the site represents um the site itself it's comprised of three lots a total about 4.45 Acres one lot that the school contained on has s on both Sheridan and Stanton the second lot has just fronted on Stanton which is a smaller lot there's a larger lot about three and a half acres 2.3 Acres that has just Frontage on shid uh but the the application is for all the lots that some of the um improvements would uh occupy parts of those lots existing we have the school um it has on story uh building with a basement it has access to the first floor by series of ramps on the side of face of Sheridan Avenue it has a series of ramps on the uh on the south side that has access to the bement of the lower level uh there's a front AIS area that's visible from stanh as well and there's also an access in the rear of the the site does have a parking lot now although it's hard to see lot of it's overgrown and repair we plan on repaving that overlaying it cre the parking area as well as fence around with back for security purposes and uh you know meet all the other items in the code for c as far as storm water management uh lighting landscaping again this is just kind of uh a picture just to illustrate what it would look like certainly back here it's approved for site plan approval and flush out all those uh details um building is rather close existing is 22 ft roughly from the property line house ban Avenue um what we propose to do is uh eliminate the series of ramps on the side of the building that faces Sheridan there's the existing seic system that's failed that's on the corner of Sheridan Stanton we'll be replacing that upgrading that to the compliant wer County Health Department setic system I believe will be recovering the well um as part of the processed water we will not be releasing anything into the groundwater uh they have a tank um so my understanding is that with part of the um hydroponic growth of it they reuse that process has rich in nitrate so they want to use that as as possible when it is spent it'll be a holding tank authorized um service contractor will come and pick it up just go so we know with released anything under ground order uh as Chris mentioned everything will occur inside the building there's no sales of any kind there's no signage proposed non scrip um I have a rendering of the building I I can show that before we get there stop no um so obviously the site is not fully engineered yet right that's correct okay but based on the plans that you prepared thus far and what's depicted on your droning table uh we don't uh Pate to require any both variances other than one existing nonform theil is that right correct will be compant with the code and we just get front yard set back 75 ft around 22 that's and uh you anticipate that um you'll be able to meet the state storm water standards correct all right uh and can you speak briefly as to what's proposed as far as Landscaping yeah so we'll have a a ster infiltration based in the rear ad landscape um we're going to put foundation landscaping around the building around the perimeter again your six foot high fence with gate closers um there'll be some shade trees added obviously the lawn will be reated overr right now so um that'll be brought up to the rest of the character of the neighborhood and I if you could uh can you show what is uh proposed as far as of the architectural enforcements to the building rendering the exterior B you can see it's the same same b shape of the building um forther regulations my understanding is the public cannot view any of the growing operations inside the building so the buildings that along the furnace will be removed these will be uh kind of like a f f window appearance that's a window um this is the architect the cues come from kind of like a barn mod Barn white with a black again this deci side that phases Grant removing all that um rwork area and then it'll be replaced the doors will be removed the only access into the building will be from the front which the if anybody wanted to come in visit there's two three parking spaces that will not be gated for Access we don't really anticipate anybody to come there no S is to adjust what it is orledge what it is two parking three parking spaces is available there the rest of park space are all in the rear and secured area there is a um door from to the lower area that that's accessible from the East side and then there there'll be a door in the rear where all the deliveries and when it's processed everything will take uh take place in the rear yard in that SP security [Music] [Music] right um I'd next like to call up Mr axelon the principal of the applicant Mr ashon you are the owner of Garden State har is that right that is correct okay um you're currently under contract to purchase this property yes okay um now before we talk about your proposal want to talk a little bit about the current state of the property can you describe the um condition of the property um currently the property Zone uh in the state you know the property was purchased back in I think 1999 by Dr Willie Carter um nothing is the property has been vacant since that time they did a minor um they did some Rehabilitation to it they put a new roof on the property in 2005 they uh upgraded the electrical system at that time in 2007 the property has not had any utilities since the 2007 because they got the halfway through the approval uh on the electrical roughing work was all done and then it was never completed there is no utilities to the property it's bled the recent pictures of the ining graffiti that's all within the last year that all happened over the month of August and um you know it's a bladed building and it there's nothing that has gone in there and unfortunately um there's probably not going to be anything going in there either just because of the condition of the property it needs a major Rehabilitation um at this time I mean it's just not economically viable to unless you're talking about a high value crop with Canabis coming in and growing it there what's your experience with uh this kind of project I don't mean the building end I mean the growing end um I uh started down this path in 2017 um in uh 2018 I started Garden State Harvest officially as a business I rented a farm over in piles Grove uh that was 12,5 Square ft of greenhouse space um I grew I had license number seven in the state to grow Canabis through the hemp program that was administered by the Department of Agriculture I grew um about a th000 plants myself um and my family and my kids and stuff uh at this Farm um we grew hydroponic lettuce uh in the main Greenhouse that was 8,500 Square ft and then in the other two green houses I grew uh cannabis uh for CBD production uh in the two green houses and outdoor so I have experienced but I had three years crops underneath my um belt growing it in the state of New Jersey and I'm aware of all the pest pressures and the humidity issues and the growing of the plant here in the state for for 20 to 2023 and I subsequently um you know okay thank you that's it anybody else have any questions [Music] all right so so actually uh actually jump the right where I was about to so um I'm going to ask you about your experience so yeah we just did that so can you just explain for the board at a high level what it is that you propose for this property um I propose that you know this this property specifically suited to um turn it into an indoor cannabis cultivation Center um it's got three four classrooms each classroom would be an individual grow room I would you would have each room would be um you know closed loop I you know technically highly Advanced systems that you know to go in these rooms you know I know odor's a big issue with everybody um you can do a closed loop air system um H over years works with different Greenhouse suppliers I've been working with them for since I started on the farm um I'm confident that I can remediate the the odor and control it and control all the environments in this room there's also [Music] um there's a processing aspect I know that the license says a class two Co manufacturing um license but it's not really manufacturing and I don't really like that term it's more processing um whereas you're taking the the plant down um not all the plant material suitable for the smokable Market that's your highest margin for the for the plant product right uh about 10% of the plant's growth can go towards that high-end smokable flower market 90% of the plant ends up you're processing it turning it into an oil which is then made into other products that's where I would end the process I'm just looking to grow the plant and process the oil and sell the the flour and the oil out of the and not I'm not manufacturing any products there I have manufactured products I have a tinure and an oil and a cream that I manufactured from the CBD hemp side of it so I've dealt with third party vendors and and those kind of things um you know it's and that's kind of I want to continue on on that lines of the medical benefits of this plant that people there's a lot more uses to this plant Than People realize and that's really what started me down this road is if I can find an alternative product to help mitigate some of the pharmaceutical opioid destruction that was bust Upon Our Country then that's kind of why I started down this road um there's a lot of medical benefits to the plant and there's also John adamovich here who is a organic chemist uh from rder University he's way smarter than I'll ever be and hey and I are looking at the cons components of the plant all the different compounds that come out of the plant how we isolate them how we extract them how to you know make it profitable and to come up with products that are not just your typical you know um what most people think of when they think of smoke thinking a weed right there's other products that that and other uses for this plant and that's my focus so to go back a second you're saying you're you're not going to uh deal with the uh the end result of some of them just with the O mostly with the oil The Beneficial part no because the top 10% of the flower I mean that's where the money is right that's you know that's selling for as we heard in the last month's presentation that's where you know you're right now in the state of New Jersey has the highest place for the wholesale flower it's up around $3,000 a pound so you know yes I'm going to sell some flour to that market but that's not the main focus of the drive that's only really the the very best of the the flower there's still 90% of the plant that's still usable material extracting that down into o making other products is really where I see the benefit and the focus of where I can make a difference just to clarify for the public again when you say sell this is not a retail operation there's no direct sales from this facility your processing no direct no direct sales to no customers no one can walk in and buy anything's no no one can even come in the building that's not correct you know approved by the state I I can't have guests I mean it's not and you're talking my license is limited to 10 employees I probably only have five or six I just want someone to hear Sell and think oh we can walk in in by a joint which that's nowhere near the case and so all right so so just to clarify with respect to your use and the sale of the product so you're proposing a class one cultivation facility and class two Manufacturing processing so class one um you'd be growing and cultivating plants right okay and that would be in accordance with uh state license requirements yes okay class two you'd be processing that plant into um pardon me the oils for example and again that would be in accordance with State licensing requirements okay and those those end products or the are the products of the cultivation and the processing those would be wholesale to other licensed vendors corre okay so there would be no direct retail component whatsoever no customers cannot just walk in the door no it's cannabis consumption uh permitted on the property absolutely not that's cannabis consumption and alcohol consumption are strictly forbidden by the state on the property so and the property is covered in security cameras that are cloud-based and accessible by the state police at any given time so there's no way that I'm even going to have a beer on the property because why would I jeopardize my license to have a beer or you know and it's just not something that will happen because everyone's job would be jeopardized by the whole license could get yanked because it's on film and it's up in the cloud and they can police can access it at any time so no there's no consumption of any kind on the prop um now during my opening comments I made some representations about the proposed micro business and the scale of the operation I was all of that uh true and accurate yes um so the scale of this business is such that it'll fit entirely within the existing building the um micro license for the cultivation side is limited to 2500 square ft of canopy space um the four rooms uh square footage at up to a total of around 2800 square ft between the four different rooms so I'd have to pair that down a little bit but you're really talking tables tabl toop is how you calculate the uh canopy space of the plants so there would be no more than 2500 square ft you know you figure about 600 square ft per room um 2 and 1 12 square ft per plant you're only talking 250 300 plants at the most per room um and you would stagger those rooms one room would be flowering at a time um each room would flip about four times a year you figure 10 to weeks to 12 weeks and the last two weeks of that are generally when the plant is in flowering State and that's when most of the odor is um you know that most people would have it you know that's when the plants it's flowering and it's blooming just like any other you know Agricultural Product excuse me one say in the processing of this plant you talk a little bit about B you will the the waste I guess right like in terms of water and just how does that what type of what's left over and how is that disposed of and things along those lines well the when you're getting that into the extraction side of it John and I are um investigating right now we're [Music] on pressing R and press right he's he's looking at into RZ and pressing which is just actually taking the plant and pressing it and squeezing the oils out of it I don't think that's very efficient but we've also um majority of the industry is um it's done through ethanol extraction um it's uh I want to say it's a tabletop kind of size machine but probably do about how big it is about the size of that table um the plant material is ground up it's run through uh a chilled ethanol that P pulls all the lipids and the all the chemical components out of the plant that's then um distilled down and you end up with an oil from that the plant material coming out of that um like I said it's been ground up it's been um you know everything's been extracted out of it all the chlorophyll the lipids the solids the what's left over I guess after all that it's just you know it's like it's compost really what do you do with it compost it you recycle it and that is according to State you know that is according to state regulations you can compost it in you mix it in with the actual gr like if I cut the grass I'll have a compost pile and I can put in there if that's a problem that's an issue with that there's no odor associated with no because everything's been stripped out once you run it through ethanol I mean that just kills everything and it's just St Roots everything is just like it's just you know it's no different than your leaves of your grass I mean it's okay you know you you you the ethanol rips literally everything out of the plant all its chlorophyll all its odor there's nothing left to it it's completely in so you can't do anything but no you can I mean it's just comp right okay and to to be clear um as a condition of of approval you would agree that your disposal of any plant waste would be in accordance with all state requirements regulations [Music] correct [Music] so all right [Music] so I also made some statements during my opening comments that we're going to be conducting this operation indoor through what I refer to as CA controlled environmental agriculture using agricultural techniques and processes similar to what would be used for any other uh crop is that that true and accurate that is true just like canoli oil or olive oil or any other oil it's you're growing a plant you're planting a seed growing a plant harvesting flour extracting the oil from the flour and having a byproduct that's all it is and with respect to your agricultural supplies and equipment you working with Griffin Greenhouse who supplies many other agricultural operations in the region what's the hours of operation 7 to six six days a week and you know Saturdays will probably be a half day just clean up kind of stuff you know two shifts maybe depending on the workforce cuz 51% of my Workforce has to come from the local area so you know I'm talking pretty decent height you know decent jobs all right so [Music] so let's speak to the operational details so 700 a.m. 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 6 days a week maybe one of those days is a half day okay um I think you said earlier your license would limit you to a maximum of 10 employees but you're likely to have less at a given time okay um let's walk through the floor plan so the board can understand the specifics of the well before we do that I had begun to go through some photograph and I think we of track um you're familiar with uh the exterior condition of the property right corre all right does exhibit A2 accurately reflect addition of the property yes not best sh what about um exhibits A3 through A5 showing the interior I think I you mentioned there's been some graffiti that's recent as of always okay and so that's what's depicted in these that bands that take place in the property yeah so you'd be looking to clean up all those conditions bring this property back in it produ use so all right now let's turn to the flo plan we'll look at a s by reference to the FL plan can you just speak briefly to [Music] can you just um explain briefly how the how this operation is going to function in the building um well as I mentioned earlier there's four classrooms throughout it and I lab them grow room 1 2 3 4 um they are existing the walls are all there you know they're nice they have nice high ceilings give you the height that you need um you know to get the lights in and and control the humidity which is your biggest issue indoor grows um the center little room there that would be the propagation mother room that's where you grow some plants where you do all your cuttings and then propagate from those mother plants to grow out um you basically started as a Seedling and then propagate uh from that [Music] room on that's the Upper Floor then the lower floor um to the it's coming in the back door to the upper to the left that is would be the drying and curing room that will be a um about half that room would be like a walk-in freezer type of situation um where it's controlled down to 60° maintain to um cure the plant after it's been harvested to just you know you need you need the plant to dry out to take about take the water moisture down to about 10% before you really want to start processing it or or anything so that would be the dry room then would' be triming and curing also taking place in there there's the two original uh old kids little bathrooms that are still there um the irrigation room would be in the center that's where um you would have your tanks your holding tanks for all your water all your nutrients that would then be piped up individually to each individual room each indidual room would have its own um batch tank processing so you can control the nutrients um based upon that specific plant's genetics and what it requires and um the old um kitchen I have it labeled as an extraction lab that already has a vent Hood in it that's why that kind of cleans up as a nice lab that's where the extraction would take place it also has a concrete SE cuz it was a kitchen and the floor it has a you know a floor drained down into um the other room the break room you pretty sof explanatory and then just some conference room and office space up in the front there um all the floor drains in the building would go out to a Reclamation tank all the bathrooms and your normal waist would go out the other side to a septic system the current there are two septic systems there now they are both failed and outdated um I did have them inspected by um Cedar Creek um septic and the reports were all ran up to the Department of Health and they all came back failed so they all need to be replaced as well um like I said and there's no gas line there's no fuel source to the building there's no electric to the building there is a well uh way back in the middle of the property that would probably have to get redrilled um can you just talk a little bit more about that the drainage that sure what tank is that going to CU I got to feel that's going to be a concern for the general public in terms you said there's a drain going to what kind of tank well it' be a Reclamation tank so it's about a 2,000 gallon tank underground that has an alarm on it once the alarm hits 3/4 we get a signal and then you have somebody come out that comes and pumps that out that would be for all the floor drains in the property because people are worried about storm water runoff and the nutrients it's I understand it's a concern it's not really a concern in my opinion when you're considering true agricultural Farmers that are you know you're talking tonnage of acreage for for fertilizer nutrients will never leave a Clos system and it will be a closing system that will never leave the property so it'll all be going down into there and it's so minimal anyway it's kind of over but yeah you don't have a constant flush and runoff of liquid off the facility it's no right no the the these irrigation systems are extremely extremely Advanced I mean you're talking I mean it doesn't do me any good to take nutrient water and wash it down the drain that's just money going down the drain so the irrigation systems are that there's monitors within the the bottom of the of the plants that monitor how much water it is and only give it what it needs until that saturated then it pulls it back and it could be you know towards the afternoon hours it it could be pumping every 5 minutes for 30 seconds and then it stops and then it pumps and then it stops and it like it's never going to be just a constant flood of water it's you know that's wasteful so where is this tank going to be located uh there is an existing um exp this should be somewhere on the pl right I would imagine one of the [Music] plan right driveway aish box there that's approxim the area where there's an existing um tank there a a seage tank then it runs off prop we just want to replace that and drop a 2,000g um closed system that'll be pumped out when it you know when it gets full gotta and that's for all the floor drains so um I'm not so much worried about like I said the irrigation water isn't really an issue when the when the plant is done growing and you harvest the plant out cleaning that room all of that I could see that being more of an issue all of that's going to be reclaimed in this reation tank because it's going down through the floor drain and not into the septic system so there'll be two septic systems one specifically for cleaning and nutrients and the other for your normal waste and they're going out opposite sides of the building Mr ashon um what type of deliveries that do you need for this em and what frequency uh very minimal just basically you know a small box truck once or two once or twice a week that would really be about it for you know office supplies and um some ACT some products um one or two a week one or two a week but only during the certain time that obviously not going to be all the time well they wouldn't deliver when they're closed right doesn't make any sense yeah I mean during the just during the time when you're when you're processing no I mean we may get yeah I mean it you getting material in but I'm talking about material out oh material out no yeah that's only let me say it's four rooms they're going to be on a rotating schedule about 10 weeks apart so every 2 and 1/2 Weeks there would be you know that room would be harvested and dried and so product going out would only be about 1 every 2 and a half FS okay so incoming deliveries to the business might be one or two a week office supplies whatever two it's not a whole lot of no track Bas and and outgoing shipments of product to your wholesale vendors are every two two and a half weeks right one or two one or two Sprinter vans or whatever we're not talking about two how about trash pickup how what volume of waste are we looking at once a week oh one dumpster yeah your normal yard dumpster your dump inside your security yard behind and all that all right um I talked a bit earlier about odor mitigation odor is frequently raised as a concern on cannabis and applications of um you know this type can you discuss at a high level your plans for odor mitigation um as far as odor mitigation um as I was saying earlier the the four grow rooms will all be closed loop systems they'll have a charcoal filter on any air flow going in and out of that room within the building itself and then um I've been working with uh an outfit known as cannab sters they are a national um a national odor mitigation company that's you know other states have this industry has been around for 20 years there are other states that are a heck of a lot further along than we are and odor can be mitigated and there's systems out there that can do it um this system creates basically um you have an exhaust fan on on the entire building that creates negative pressure in the building takes all the air up out the fan that's constantly running all the the air flow goes out as it comes out it there's an atomizer that takes the solution turns it into um a nanop particle that attaches to to the odor Mo molecules and then uh it makes them inert um and that's that's the system I mean and it would be a double like I said it' be it's a little Overkill but I understand it's a big issue for a lot of people and I'm willing to do whatever odor mitigation systems need to be in [Music] place and again we talked about the scale of the proposed operation so you're looking at at approximately how many plants at a time no more than um 500 plants would be flowering at any one time the rest would be in either V or the other states whether or not umal move your seat up the audio system all right so we're so we're looking at approximate or at a Max of approximately 500 plants a flowering in a given time right and again this is a fully indoor operation and the fact that it's an indoor grow as opposed to an outdoor grow you're better able to control the environmental input as well as the output um [Music] and it's a limited period of time during the grow cycle when odor is an issue right yes that's again the odor is you know when the plant is flowering which is generally um you know what's 6 weeks of the the L of a plant's life cycle out of the 10 weeks so two rooms would only be going at the same time you talking a total of 500 plants total [Music] um you're confident that this system will function as intended and will be able to mitigate odor yes yes um do you anticipate that this use is going to cause any noise impact to neighbor no none about lighting impact no um now the camera systems are very sophisticated they don't really need a high amount of light um um again our operation hours will probably be till about 6:00 um so I don't foresee any you know other than normal security lighting that can be on a timer or photo sensitive or photo sensors or or whatever I don't really see it being an issue me security so if you just um speak at a high level the proposed as far as security um so I've uh consulted with sappire uh risk management they are another prominent um national uh security system uh consultant um they put together a brief overview I mean every door in the facility will be key fed there's no access without having a keep up to it all the individual grow rooms have a keep upop so you can track when everybody someone's coming and going every grow room has cameras in it so that you can monitor what's happening with the plants the secur the exterior of the building is I think they've got one two three eight cameras on the exterior of the building um and again it's all cloud-based um that the state police can come in and and check it at any time and they have direct access to it so it's a very secure it's a high level system of um you know I mean it's I don't it's a high level security system that's no armed security guards or anything no like that no that's only on the retail basis because it's retail and it's cash and you have to have you know that's why they have the security guards on the dispensaries but not on the cultivation site because that's all um you know it's still handled a between you know Banks there's no cash flow going back and forth can you speak a little bit to your experience um previously with any type of vandalism break-ins anybody giving you a hard time has that been an experience of yours with your previous cooperation I I grew a thousand plants Outdoors um no nobody came and took anything or and my neighbors all knew who what I was doing um and I had no odor mitigation system set up on that because they you don't really need like the cannabis plant under the hemp B is covered under the right to farm so you're covered under odor mitigation issues which is a little crazy because it's the same plan but in the Pro this program um no I had no issues and I never locked it you know barns were all open in the green hous I you could walk in any time there will be no operations whatsoever outside of the building other than bringing a deliveries inside correct all right um we talked earlier about the vacant lighted state of the building uh and Mr Gilmore showed the architectural rendering of what you going to do with the building can you just um speak to what you know how you intend to improve this [Music] building um I you know has anybody here gone to school [Music] there um so in the year that I've been applying and doing all this stuff I I ran across a lot of people who are telling me fun stories about the school and I that's not lost on me and it's you know I I do like the fact that it's it's an old school and I would like to honor that and you know put a plaque up and commemorate the history of it um Improvement so the Improvement so um you have to close in all the windows that's just according to state regulations you can't have public uh viewing of The Grow rooms so in order to not make it look like just B big monstrosity I came up with the thought of making it look more like you know a board and batten kind of barn look to the building with some faux windows up top um and try to you know pre preserve the building and and bring it back to a functioning State rather than what it's you know going to happen to it it's going to just go away I mean it's going to be demolished at some point Have you had a have you had a structural engineer inspect the [Music] building no not yet I think that would be real advisable because there wooden floors they're not you're not down on the ground level on concrete or your growing area is going to be up on the yeah well majority of the weight would be in the water holding tanks which are on the ground floor and the plants aren't again they're they're not they're not holding a lot of water they're not you know they're in one gallon uh pots and it's usually a core based uh medium that the're growing in so they're not hugely it's not a huge weight Bo on that and it's an old school it was built very well I mean it's you know I but I would you know that would be obviously a part of site plan approval when we go from that side we would absolutely have the structural engineer come in and look at all that stuff and and provide testimony on that all right um so you were talking about the vacant state of the building and your plans to improve it and I think what you said was that you know the building is like to be demolished if it's not to use it sometime soon is that really right that's my op yeah and I mean based on your knowledge your dealings with the current owner um there's been no appetite for other buyers to purchase this building right the the building's been actively for sale for four years it's been on the market we just went through the strongest you know one of the crazy real estate market I'm also a real estate agent um so I I I do understand the real estate market firsthand and that nobody has stepped forth and found a use for this building um kind of speaks for itself so as a near real estate agent I'm looking around for other you know for a site and this one just kept popping up on my radar I looked at it I walked through it I was like wow this is laid out exactly perfect for what I want to do this is a I thought it was a win-win I'm sure there's people here that don't see that as a win-win but we'll hear from them shortly um all right and based on your experience um in the industry are you confident that this property in this building are going to be a good fit and accommodate your operations yes 100% [Music] [Music] thank you any other questions not right now all right um as our third witness I'd like to call Todd Ross good evening my name is Todd Ruff I am a representative for Griffin greenhouse supply I am a controller agriculture rep I work uh New York New Jersey K Maryland and Delaware so uh my team and I we work with uh producers for fruits veggies and right now because of the market I do a lot of work with canvus uh a lot of the vendors I know uh will be large the large msos that you all know the name of that operate locally in the area uh and MSO is a multi-state operator so I deal with a lot of these larger businesses from with their locations in New Jersey as well as outside of Jersey uh I also work with uh fruit and veggie uh producers uh veggie producers that are all the way from fully automated systems that use AI all the way down to local grower same with cannabis I work with large extremely large grows 10,000 100,000 square fet all the way down to uh people like Mr axelon um I have 5 years in the industry um I've probably been in more cannabis facilities ities than I would arguably say anybody in this room um very familiar with the processes very familiar with uh with the systems uh I do not consider myself a plant expert but I again am very knowledgeable with the overall operations systems things of that nature um Mr R so um in your role that you just described with Griffin um you supply agricultural operations in addition to uh Pardon Me In addition to kinds right correct I like I said our company supplies uh we we do fertilizer we do the actual structures the equipment uh sprayers all of the anything needed for that um for like I said for cannabis but also for other uh grows um so you're familiar with the type of equipment and supplies that are required for agricultural operations yes um the equipment and supplies that that uh Griffin um would be supplying to Garden State Harvest would be the same type of equipment and supplies for the same type of processes that are conducted in any other agricultural operation correct they'd be tailored for his particular environment based off of the the facility that he's using but yes they would be very similar to anything else that would be used in any normal um agriculture uh agricultural growth okay um all right and Through Your Role at Griffin are you familiar with the availability and effectiveness of AO mitigation systems yes um it's not just here everywhere has usually it's the same issue it comes up um the there are multiple uh options multiple companies the one that uh Mr axon has been talking to custers is one that I am very familiar with I've worked with them I have clients that have worked with them uh the system does work very very well um you know you there's plenty of uh information online if you really want to dig into it but the system does work work very well the actual um technology has been in use around uh it's they they tailored it to cannabis but it has been around for other things like um transfer stations uh trash yards things like that um other kind of stinky areas this process and this um material and product that they use has been used with them for the past 20 years and there's other other things like carbon filter technology things like that that again as Mr axelon goes through the process as we start to really dig in and get into the uh design aspect of it these are all factors that we're going to consider Griffin is going to be one of the PE one of the uh guiding forces behind his design we're going to be helping with him uh and again since we do have uh Griffin as a nationwide company we are involved in the design build of cannabis facilities all over the country and we take all of those uh all of basically what we do around the country and all the different uh regulations that they have and we basically take that and use best practices to help people like Mr axelon Design a facility that is the best for him but also for the community that he's in other than the fact that this is a a unique plant that's cut its own regulations is there anything particularly um unique about this cultivation operation as opposed to any other agriculture or cultivation of plants I I I kind of disagree it's a plant it's just a plant take the politics and everything away from it it's just a plant um it all needs all the same thing as everything else it needs light it needs it needs uh soil and it needs some fertilizer that's it without getting too crazy about everything it really is just a plant and that's what we're going to be providing him so he can grow it how many have you dealt with in a school uh actually School none uh I do work with one in a converted church I don't know if that counts uh church has a high cealing very high ceiling that was that was that why they bought it thank you if I may um so uh if if I may indulge you for just a moment uh I came from outside the industry I've been in this industry for 5 years um no Port background whatsoever it was a big leap coming in to deal with this uh into the industry and especially with cannabis I had no idea what I was going to be dealing with I wasn't sure if I was going to be dealing with the chich and Chong situation that's kind of what I had in my head to be honest with you um my a year in I realized I couldn't be more wrong um the people that I work with uh the crowers the you know the they're just regular people they're they're they're often very very smart um it is not the gray Market it is not the black market um these people spend a lot of time a lot of money doing things the right way um and they are all very much so on the up and up I I'm actually very proud to be part of this industry um and the people I've worked with over the past 5 years have all been really top-notch um you don't go into this industry looking to cut Corners because if you do you're going to get caught and there's nothing there's no reason for somebody like Mr axelon to try and do that to take to put a step out of line and lose all the money and he has put up a lot of money and he's going to put up a whole lot more and he's going to lose all of that so there's nothing beneficial for him to try and do anything below board um and like I said the people that I've been working with in the industry across all the states have been phenomenal it is not a this is not the this is not the criminal industry all right and he is doing everything that he can to play by the rules and do all the best practices for his benefit and for yours so thank you thank you any questions all right um as our last last wi us I'd like to call our planner TIY Marcy I'm going to need to lower this thing although I have five kids and scream really loud I don't want to do that the screaming part A's bad go ahead good evening so I'm a licensed professional planner in the state of New Jersey as well as a member of the American Institute of certified planners with the masters of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania been practicing in the planning profession for over 20 years throughout New Jersey representing municipalities as well as applicants before boards currently represent univista Township Mars River Township uh Woodberry Heights and other municipalities throughout New Jersey as well as um preparing plans for them and ordinances and master plans for them and also appearing before boards and I'm sure you've seen me before your board as well in the past okay you're good thank you and that it yeah okay so instead of doing the Q&A because we all know I'm going to just explain everything and fighting over the microphone and hopefully everyone can hear me I'm going to talk about the use variance criteria so we're here because we require a use variance because this is the ra Zone which is not um the residential agricultural Zone which does not permit cannabis um cultivation facilities or growth facilities the property is a unique property and meets many criteria under the municipal land use law in terms of why it is particularly suited for the proposed use um under particular suitability and the positive criteria analysis what we have to demonstrate and discuss with the board and show to the board is that there are unique factors associated with the property and the use that create a good marriage on this property for what we are proposing um and I believe that exists here on many factors we also have to understand and start off in this process talking about the elephant in the room of sorts right um cannabis is is something some people completely understand understand the need for and um are in favor and advocate for cannabis also causes a lot of misunderstanding and confusion and fear if you're not familiar with the industry and what the regulations are and how the industry operates so I hope to help answer if we haven't answered some of the things that may address some fears and explain what the need is for this type of facility New Jersey has adopted various regulations initially we adopted regulations for medical marijuana facilities and then after that we adopted the recreational um facilities this facility to grow cannabis doesn't um mean it's necessarily going to be sold just for recreational use this can be sold for medical use just because you go to a recreational distribution facility doesn't mean you're using it for recreational purposes either my sister she's 51 years old and she has Scleroderma and lupus and she needs to have access to cannabis to help her with her symptoms she doesn't she has a medical card but she also takes advantage of the recreational facilities because it's easier to get to and it helps her live her life and if you know what spaderma is it's when you turn into a statue you have bone spurs come out of your hands people use cannabis to help sleep to help with anxiety to help with symptoms after chemotherapy it is a positive um aspect of what we can use in our daily lives to help with conditions we as a state have decided that it is appropriate to allow both medical and recreational the township of Franklin felt that it was important enough to address and when they adop you adopted an orance in 2021 0621 and you felt that it was appropriate at that point in time to have any distribution or facilities where you could go purchase cannabis and no delivery facilities but you did say it was okay to have the cultivation the manufacturing and the processing and what we're proposing here is to grow in a micro facility in a contained environment cannabis plants in accordance with all of the state regulations now this site and what makes it particularly suited and what is unique to this site is the existing features of the property the existing building on this property and I've represented panabas um cultivators I've represented the retail uh components and I've also worked with municipalities and writing ordinances I've worked with an application to have a cultivation a grow facility in the center of Atlantic City in an old building that they are retrofitting that is very similar to what we're proposing here aside from it being in the City versus in the township of Franklin but what we're doing is taking an old building adaptively repurposing it bringing it back into production to provide a benefit to the community in terms of not having a rundown building where people are hanging out putting graffiti throughout the building uh it's it's not in a good shape and good condition and so here we have a building that allows us to provide for a controlled grow facility and controlled grow in an indoor environment provides a much better alternative to a large outdoor grow facility in this type of location the controlled grow allows for um controls on humidity it allows for controls on pest it allows you to reuse and repurpose the water it allows for you to have um appropriate security and it doesn't change what the area looks like there are improvements made to the building the building looks as it has in many respects for over I think 1920 1900 the the school was built at least 1920 so it puts this back onto the tax rolls and makes it a productive property although it was really never on the tax rolls as a school facility in terms of uh the municipality and the ordinances that you have you have permitted a grow facility you have one on Lake Road um and that's an outdoor indoor Greenhouse type facility it's a much larger facility it is not the same in comparison to what we're proposing here in this controlled environment within this existing building under the municipal land use law in terms of the particular suitability um we have to show that there are unique aspects of the use in the site and when we listen to the testimony of how this site operates or is proposed to operate and how this property currently exists there are several unique features to consider the first is that adaptive reuse of this existing building we're not going to have to make any improvements to this property we're not adding an outdoor Greenhouse we're not putting any additional buildings up all we are doing is restoring the existing parking area improving the building and the only added Improvement to the property is a storm water management Basin and that's to meet storm water management requirements that didn't exist back in 1920 when this property was originally built so the improvements that are needed are very minimal on this property making it uniquely fitted for this use or uniquely suited for this use the property is not located on an internal res in within a residential culdesac type Community it's on one of your main there's residential in the area it is not in a neighborhood that is a CAC Community where you have a dense population of housing around this property all right let her finish please to speak into the record I will not interrupt you I promise I didn't say it wasn't a residential area I said it is not in a CAC type residential Community where you have houses one right after the other yo [Music] quiet go on the property yes is in a residential agricultural Zone there is a house across the street there are homes around the area but directly adjacent to this property it's a 4.45 acre lot it is a oversized lot that could be subdivided into Residential Properties it has the ability to not be within a local internal neighborhood street it's on a May more of a uh more of a main road not a minor Nate uh residential road which is important but it's also important to note that this applic this property will not have the amount of employees that you would have had with a school it will not have the amount of traffic that you would have had with a school you have one to two deliveries a week one trash pickup a week and you have 10 employees on ships so it's less impactful than any of the other uses that could occur in this property on this in this building now the ordinance in this Zone doesn't say that you can't use the structure it does permit a variety of us uses it's just that those uses are not um going to be able to accommodate this building because of the improvements that are necessary there's an investment that needs to go into this property including improving the septic bringing the utilities back to the property your ordinance allows single family it allows agricultural it allows municipal buildings police stations libraries Fire EMS schools and other similar uses it also has conditional uses such as churches hospitals convalescent homes club or lob all of these uses are appropriate in a residential area this is a former school it was appropriate in this location as a school but if it is repurposed as a school or as a church or as a club or Lodge or as a municipal building uh that provides some type of library or community service space you're going to have more impact on this property in terms of traffic and changes than what you will from what is proposed Within this application and you have a significant investment that's required in order to make this property and this building functional that cannot occur from nonprofit type uses and so that adds to the appropriateness of this location Additionally the lot is 4.45 Acres we are only utilizing 25% of that property 75% of this property is wooded and will remain undeveloped we're not changing the property we're only reutilizing the building for a use that is permitted to occur in the state of New Jersey and we believe is appropriate on this site the site and the youth are particularly suited to one another because of the unique characteristics of the use and the demands of the use and the needs of the use as well as the existing conditions of the property and the ability to reuse that building the municipal land use law has several purposes of zoning which are Advanced that includes to encourage Municipal action to guide the appropriate use or development of all lands in the state in a manner which will promote the public health safety morals and general welfare when a site and a youth are considered particularly suitable to one another they promote the general welfare I also believe the Adaptive reuse of a building bringing it back into production with a use that provides a product that is beneficial to the residents of the community and the state adds to that promotion of the general welfare I believe the site promotes the purpose of zoning to for development that provides sufficient space in appropriate locations for a variety of uses both public and private according to their respective environmental requirements in order to meet the needs of all New Jersey citizens this site while it is not an industrial Zone which is what your the state defers to in terms of where cultivation should be this site has an existing structure this is a micro facility it is not a new Warehouse building it is not a new clearing of the lot for for greenh houses we're not saying we're farming outside we're growing indoors we're indoor cultivation this site and this use this provides sufficient space for this to occur in a manner that is not going to interfere with the existing development patterns and neighborhood the site promotes the purpose of zoning to provide adequate light air in open space the building um is already existing and we recognize that we don't meet the setback requirement for the existing setback to Sant Avenue which is 22 ft but we do have considerable setbacks um we have 88 ft to the I don't have the north Arrow but to the right of the building going back down um Sheridan you have over 5 40 ft and going out um toward Sheridan you have over 76 ft to the building 75% of this property will not be developed 25% the area where the building is reim proving the parking lot and the storm water management area is all that's going to be left that's going to be utilized the V the the forested areas that are out in this area surrounding this corner of this intersection are not going to change by virtue of this app loation I also believe we promote um the purpose of zoning to encourage the coordination of the various public and private procedures and activities shaping Land Development with a view of lessening the cost of such development and to the more efficient use of land when you have a property that has improvements and you can repurpose that and you can reutilize it and provide investment back into the community that results in what I believe is the more efficient use of land alternatively to take this property and turn it into several residential lots and lose all of the vegetated area would have a different impact maybe not one that um would bother some people but losing the vegetation and having existing new homes put up could have a change to the character of this intersection within the community and lastly I believe we promote the purpose of zoning to provide and promote a desired visual environment through creative cretive development techniques and good Civic design and Arrangement again creative development techniques and good Civic design and Arrangement that desired visual environment this building is going to continue to look as it has with improvements you're not going to have visible windows but you're going to have a building that looks like it has it's not a substantial change we have um the exhibit here so it's not going to have the overgrown vegetation it's not going to have the the graffiti it's not going to have all of the negatives that are there the creative development techniques to repurpose a building for something that contributes back to the community in terms of the use that is proposed is a benefit and promotes that purpose of zoning in terms of the positive criteria I believe there are a lot of benefits afforded this application in terms of what it can do what it means to the community what it means to New Jersey and what it means in terms of uh the use that is proposed and the benefits it can afford in terms of the negative criteria this is where we want to talk about what is the unknown and the fear that goes along with cannabis and it is a fear and you hear it in the community behind me this is such a highly regulated business and industry there are requirements so that there are security cameras around this entire property there are requirements in terms of the way you grow the plant every part of that plant has to be accounted for by weight so they know that it hasn't been Mis appropriated everything has checks and balances with the state including how you take care of trash removal so there is no room here for any potential security problems or negative issues in the community the biggest concern that comes from Cannabis cultivation is the odor mitigation and the industry has come so far that that can be controlled and regulated they're controlling it in cities where the buildings are next to other buildings and they're not having problems with the odor when you have an outdoor grow facility it's harder to control odor because you're not in a controlled environment this building having a controlled environment can have an appropriate odor mitigation system with the scrubbers and offers and all the things that they need to ensure that there's no negative impact from the odor in terms of negative impacts as they relate to the negative criteria and whether there's a substantial detriment to the public good the odor mitigation should not be one of those because of the industry requirements if this use is approved and we are back for site plan we will provide full information on all odor mitigation measures but I can assure you that it's not going to be an issue if it's not an issue in a City environment it's not going to impact an enclosed environment out here as well um the the material the industry has come a very long way concerns about security there are no people going in and out the area the fact of the property is fenced the entrance is secure the only people allowed in the building are the employees and or state Regulators that might be doing inspections you have to have appropriate clearance to enter the bu building there will be cameras and you have a security plan and that will be reviewed by any Department in the township that you would want it to be reviewed by as well as meeting the stringent state standards for security with cameras at every entrance and outside and appropriate Lighting in the rear of the building for security purposes our hours of operation are from 7: to 6 um 5 days a week and a half day on Saturdays are what we're proposing we're proposing 10 employees which creates no real sub anal change or impact in terms of traffic patterns so in terms of the substantial detriment to the public good short of cannabis is against my morals and I don't like it and trust it the regulations that are in effect really control those impacts on this property such that they do not create a sub a substantial detriment to the public good in fact less of an impact than If This Were converted to a full school again or a church or some other type of use that's permitted in terms of the last prong is the substantial impairment of the zoning organs and master plan this property is a unique property it's an anomaly you don't have properties throughout your ra Zone that are like this property where you have an old school on a large lot that has not been utilized and can be repurposed and that's important because when we look at what we're doing here and we look at the zoning ordinance and we look at the standard in your master plan which was just reapproved last month um we have to show why this advances the purposes of your ordinance and your master plan and why it makes sense on this property when you look at the ra Zone there are many purposes included in the resid in that zone the purposes in that zone include to conserve and preserve environmentally sensitive lands including but not limited to areas such as Woodlands consisting of mature stands of forest um steep slopes flood planes Etc 75% of this property will remain undeveloped and that's not an open field it's a wooded area of the property 4.45 Acres 75% of that is going to remain undeveloped the purposes also include conservation and maintenance of open lands and that's what this application does it allows for this property to remain as it has with the structure on it in its state that it's it's been in with limited improvements on the property your master plan which was recently just amended and I reviewed continues to advance many of the similar goals and objectives that existed in your 2013 master plan goals that include protecting the rural quality and quality of the life in Franklin Township and the objectives underneath that encouraging growth and development in clusters rather than sprawling development and in those areas near existing infrastructure in order to minimize impacts to a loss of open space farmland and forested areas to require landscape buffering to minimize noise the visual and other impacts of non-residential development on residential uses that first goal of the master plan we're not changing anything on this property we're repurposing an existing structure and having limited improvements and preserving 75% of that property from develop from being developed this goes towards advancing that purpose in your master plan this is not a new building this is not a new bill this is not adding additional structures the goals in the master plan were revised to also state to promote orderly growth and development consistent with State and Regional plans and consistent with the township Master plans elements the state of New Jersey believes that cannabis cultivation and cannabis operations are appropriate this may not be an industrial Zone which is where the default is but the ordinances or the regulations for the state don't say you can't have cultivation outside of industrial areas so this meets the state requirements in terms of where is it appropriate can this happen has it happened in other locations and yes cultivation outside in other zones is appropriate and this repurposing of this building advances that um purpose in your master plan and lastly maintain a well not lastly maintain a safe and attractive residential environment for current and future residents to enjoy they may not agree but the security that's going to go into this facility based on state regulations is so comprehensive that this will in fact be a safe environment better than having people partying or hanging out inside a vacant building that's already in the neighborhood and not contributing to the community to continue to seek diversity and expand your economy to provide for flexibility to allow for Innovative techniques or alternative methods in agriculture Al production as Technologies evolve in order to support the agricultural industri I don't know how this can't fall any closer to that goal and objective in the master plan cannabis plants medical or these plants the the Cannabis product and the cultivation an indoor environment an indoor grow facility is advancement of agricultural technology we have facilities throughout the country where they are pro creating indoor grow facilities because it has a better controlled environment for humidity you can produce year round and you don't have to contend with pesticides I will note in your master plan and I would be remiss if I didn't because someone will tell me if I don't there was a recommendation in the master plan specific to the Cannabis requirements and to encourage cannabis in and permit cannabis cultivation the classes 1 through 4 in your industrial Zone this is not an industrial Zone but as I stated it's an anomaly of a property it is a unique property that works for this use because of the two factors the existing structure and how it can be contained and controlled and provide a reuse of this building this is not something you would find in many other locations it is unique to this property at this location and because of that I believe this would Advance what is intended in your master plan and would Advance the purposes and goals of your master plan without causing any substantial impairment again um I believe there are substantial benefits afforded this application I believe this is cite in the use clearly particularly suited to one another I believe there's fear associated with some of these uses and not everyone understands it but I think when you look at the basic premise reusing of property and putting it back onto the productive roles with something that is this highly regulated ensures that that there's no negative impact to the surrounding area thank you okay uh our our Township engineer wrote a report do you want to thank you chairman board members we did a report dated April 15 2024 and this report is basically what the applicant and the applicant's profess have been talking to each one of those points I'd just like to quickly summarize a couple of things in there so this is in fact the resident agriculture Zone residents and agriculture are permitted in New Jersey cannabis is not agriculture per so it doesn't meet the permitted uses in the zone furthermore or ordinance 6-2 21 says cannabis uh cultivation and Manufacturing and processing is only permitted in an industrial Zone therefore and like they said they are here for that D variance that D variance can only be granted by this board Mrs Marcy went over the positive and negative criteria uh in support of that D variance read uh one of one of the things I really wanted to hear from the application tonight was what was going to happen with the rest of the land we heard it very clearly that the remainder of that property is going to stay in its wooded State the way it is now if you look at the rent in that's the dark green color that's going to stay wooden as part of this application um so again this is only for a use variant it's a bifurcated application um if it's approved they will need to come back to this board for formal site plan approval that's where we'll get into the meat the the meat potatoes at the engineering portion of it drainage and parking and storm water management Landscaping things along those lines so that's really not on the table tonight it's just the use the use I wanted to hear operational details I think the applicant did a good good job explaining to us how this school is going to be reused for this proposed operation other items in my report hours of operation number of employees deliveries and sight lighting has all been um testified to tonight at a high level and again we'll we'll get to all of that more in the site plan um in Franklin Township we have a section of our ordinance 25396 label prohibited uses and items of concern are security noise light groundwater pollution and odor mitigation and that's a lot what we heard tonight they touched on each one of their points how they they think that their operation doesn't fall under this prohibited uses category um one thing the security plan when you read it it talks about a safe for currency storage I thought I heard testimony tonight that there's really not going to be any cash on site maybe we can have some testimony maybe you can tell me that's not supposed to be in the security report but I picked that up and I just wanted the board to be familiar with that also um if this gets appr this Ed variance gets approved um the security plan should be subject to approval by our local police department also any conditions of approval should be uh subject to all these Lots being Consolidated so it stays as one parcel and doesn't become other uses and that's all I have for right now okay thank you anybody want to open up I make a motion we open the public second Okay who wants to be heard who's the first victim is there a time Lim come on come on up I guess come up here you have to that ain't going to work that's not going to work she has to she has to record it for the record okay can you hear me can you hear me yes I am not for Beed your name address and address4 okay raise your right hand please swear to tell the truth of nothing but the truth I hope you got sure help okay okay I'm just saying that I'm not for or against this I came for information this evening that's all now there's two questions I have one I heard there was aestus in the building is that true or is that rumor and two if I were one of the residents nearby I would want to absolutely know that I was not going to be affected by lights at night for security um by any of the um the the fumes or whatever now that was entertained I I heard that but if you have if you have a mechanical Hood that's sucks up the vapors from the extraction process those Vapors are automatically screened with the uh carbon carbon filters or something that's what they testified to okay I'm just wondering if maybe a couple board members could go to this place on what is it Lake Road or something check it out for yourself and see are there any odors or are there not that way we would know for sure so that's that's my concern the effect of those that live immediately nearby as far as lights are odors and the the daycare and that's it the idea of renovating the property look wonderful so that part is POS that's all thank you anybody else come on up Let's Make a Deal [Music] name and address please Sher Meister s h e r r y n e i m e i s t e r address place thank you okay raise your right hand s to tell the truth thank you thank you I am the director of the nursery school that is directly across from the DAT from the proposed site we have over 123 children in the school at this time I have worked in this Township for 43 years and even though I don't live in this Township I consider the people in the township my family and I take it very seriously we are nonprofit We give to the community but if that this is allowed to go forward we will never be able to take the children outside to play parents will not want their children to come to a daycare across from a processing plant and we are one of two daycares in the township and it would be a shame for us to close his business will close this business and even though you talk about air quality and all that if you ever go off 42 and go to green leaf and smell that three four blocks away from that facility and I talked to the gentleman here and he said well they can find me and this can that well that's all well and good but my children my over 100 100 children will not be able to go outside so I would think that it is not appropriate in that area for this daycare to have that across the street from it thank you thank you Chris Jones 1605 Autumn Drive okay swear to fell the truth sir yes I do okay okay got to call PS on a couple things here number one everybody knows that that's going to be a weed one or weed place okay um and also the smell as a 32-year police officer okay I have dealt with many hundreds of weed GRS the ones in the houses flares everything okay you are not going to get that smell away and that is right in my backyard okay so everybody knows that cannabis is still a schedule one uh class drug okay so the DEA actually still prosecutes for that just keep that in mind because of the uh uh presidential stuff going on right now you don't know what's going to happen with that okay so can I ask you guys a couple questions what kind of hold it just use the mic though you got to use the mic [Music] okay what kind of hazardous materials are there uh CO2 bottles and H ammonia it CO2 pool potentially ethanol okay how much and where is the tank and things like that of stone answers so he's got to they got to come back if gets approve it's it's not going to work to do it this way with back and forth we we'd have to have you come up and well if you have questions you raise them and then afterward they' be able to to address it so no you can use that little more time no I don't get any more time just you know I wanted answer questions you know what what you know how much are they because it affects me because I have a tank of of CO2 or anything else that's in my backyard okay so I I would like to uh have that information thank you sir thank [Music] you Andrew Garnier 1622 St Avenue you swear to tell the truth I do so swear thank you um I live approximately half an hour or half a mile from where this plan development is going to be going in um about halfway between Sheridan and Cole's Mill um my kids have attended JPS since they were old enough to approximately 2 years I have a 5-year-old and 7-year-old both in janir uh Elementary School now I have a statement and then some questions to be clear this is a variance for approval to grow recreational weed there's been a lot of Flowery language about medical marijuana and extracted oils but they have deliberately Sid stepped bluntly saing they are selling their $3,000 per pound flowers for recreational purposes and using this building because it is significantly below market value for the acreage and square footage there a reason they are here seeking a variance from the industrial zoning assumption for cultivation which is meant to keep businesses like this out of neighborhoods by my understanding criteria for a variance also requires no substantial detrimental effect to the community which to be clear and speak to the planner's point Franklin zoning requires one acre in Franklinville Township District approve uh that JPS School dist uh janir Presbyterian Preschool is a district approved pickup and drop off point for after and before St Care at that location there are at least three bus routes that I know of that have a school bus stop in that parking lot 200 ft from where they're planning to put this building against those security CS has that been addressed at all in this and what's going to happen happen with those bus routes because I know seal bus dolphin bus and fish bus all pick up there for janard school and that is just speaking for kindergarten through second grade teacher Sherry has addressed how many kids go to that school and that has been an operation for 43 years a lot of fully grown adults in this Township went to preschool in that building and if this goes through that will cause significant detrimental effect to this community and to that business business which has been a fixture of Franklinville for 40 plus years I also have some questions so they they talked about the stringent security standards how do they plan to meet those stringent security standards of fences and no windows and all these security cameras while remaining a non-descript building in a residential farm community where the average acreage is probably 2 plus acres per house they can't it is going to look like Fort KNX and everyone is going to know what's there because of this they talked about closed loop air filtration experience with 6 weeks out of 10 that those flowers are going to be flowering your time is up Sir than [Music] you big Marshall 67 New Road Mal good even Christina you swear to tell the truth I do okay as I stated before you've seen me at multiple different meetings my family's been in this Township since the late 1800s the last thing we need is this town going to pot it can't continue down that path it's steadily degrading and this unfortunately will not help us in any way shape Rec uh a couple things that were brought up one about the master plan it was not approved yet the preliminary approval was done through the planning board had some changes that had to be re and then it's going to the township commit so it hasn't been approved one of the changes they did talk about though is they want to bring this in put marijuana only or cat excuse me only in the industrial commercial Zone they want to make that specific it states it already they just want to reinforce it so I would again take it away from this Zone everybody from what I've been seeing even through other towns I've attended other meetings in other areas there's a cash C board on everybody's trying to jump on board to make money Colorado started this years ago because of that and what's going on now with the actual decline of these sales Colorado was losing one out of four cannabis facilities every week they're going into a bladed building and the tax return that the township was getting where the city is getting is declining rapidly the build there given up the buildings there's not enough demand now to support all the businesses that are actually growing in the different states are allowing so we're going to be no different we have enough of those empty buildings in this town now uh the Water concern we're talking about the capture in the water the average cannabis plant requires 5.8 gallons a day of water now not all that would go into the Wastewater site a lot of it would be absorbed but even that being said at a th000 plans that's going to exceed their water capacity and their tank every single day that would have to have that truck coming in every day to pump it out every day another truck went up and down our roads pumping out water and I don't how that could even sustain it that's what they stay at a th ples that's just basic M something that hasn't been brought up and Dana you may be able to reinforce me on this but something I've been done doing some research lately on is the fire hazard of indoor facilities Canabis Burns at a rate of six times hotter than any other type of building fire next to a fertilizer facility most fires when you actually start researching this have multiple injuries to Firefighters because of the fumes the Heat and what go on and that's with City word we don't have that the most recent one was in California it was a building very similar size to this it was 3200t facility took 150 firefighters with City wooder to actually adjust a contain it took 6 hours and had 18 injuries to his firefighters because of the heat to damage something our town does not have the capability handling it can't we need to think smarter and better to improve this community thank [Music] [Music] you Ladi and gentlemen Chris sers 184 M Lake boulard where to tell the truth yes I do thank you uh so this past spring I had the privilege to talk to gosh hundreds of residents just knocking on doors and talk them and actually you know I asked your opinions about cannabis and in Franklin Township and I had a very stated position on my uh opinion of how public cannabis you know what most of the residents in Franklin Township were mixed when it came to the legalization of recreational Cannabis however there was not one resident that I talked to that was supportive of the idea that they should have one of these facilities in their neighborhood or next to their homes not one I could not find one and again a lot of these people were supportive of the policy of recreational marijuana but they were not supportive of having these facilities in neighborhoods where they live and work and their sh kids would would play um secondly uh just speaking to the legal aspect of this so under the federal Controlled Substances Act Distributing possessing with intent to distribute or manufacturing of a control substance in or on or within 1,000 ft of real property comprising a public or private elementary vocational or secondary school or a private or public College Junior College University or playground remains a Federal Criminal effect so regardless so I went on Google Maps I didn't have the ability to just get a tape measure out but I went on Google Maps and I measured the distance according to Google the of the daycare center to the distance to the school it's less than 250 ft wow 250 ft and there's a playground there it's a pre daycare and it remains a federal crime to manufacture these products within that distance I don't know what exactly did you have to swear an oath in order to be on this board because I know I know elected officials have to swear an oath to both the United States Constitution and the New Jersey Constitution and I got I won't begin into um you know obviously there's a disconnect there um but just know your Authority and and U just make sure that you uh respect both documents thank you very much thank [Music] you good evening good evening you here yeah Jason br 688 Rosemont Avenue Newfield New Jersey okay just where to tell the truth J I did okay um I have two portions of my comments this evening uh the first comments are coming from me as the president of the Franklin Township School Board uh as I've been directed by my board to come here and represent them uh in relationship this application this evening um as you're all aware uh Franklin Township uh School District operates a uh K through second uh School uh jamer school which is in close proximity to this site uh in addition uh we do operate our um administrative uh office facilities uh for the district uh on the same Jamir property which is in close proximity uh to this site um the board is uh opposed to this application um board does not feel as though it's an appropriate use uh in the zone and um would strenuously object uh to any approval that would Grant um such an application um as before the board this evening um with that I'm going to move on that was my pitch as representative of the school Bo yeah my comments from here forward are my personal opinions and personal comments um I just wanted to address a couple things that the the planning official uh Mrs morsy said um actually things that she didn't say uh more appropriately um the first thing is that the township never passed an ordinance um approving or encouraging cannabis facilities within the township outside the bounds of the industrial districts as Mr shoty pointed out in his Testament um the second thing is again as Mr shot pointed out and you hear me say this repetitively on these applications is that um as much as these applicants try to tie these applications to an agricultural use cannabis is not recognized as an agricultural use under the municipal Lane use SP the next comment is um regarding uh the master plan re-examination um again that that document has not been adopted uh however uh Mrs morsy brought it up so there's a couple aspects of that those recommendations which were conspicuously left out of um her testimony um they are as follows there's a recommendation um by the committee to the planning board to specifically prohibit cannabis uses in all areas of the township outside of the industrial zones additionally there was another recommendation to prohibit any Canabis uses within 1,000 ft of a school irrespective of whether or not they're in industrial Z so that's over and above the the recommendation to prohibit in the in the other sense okay so at this point I'd like to cross-examine Mrs Mary on another comment that she made your time is up Jason Mr engus this if this is approved it will be appealed can I have an opportunity to cross examing one of the the professionals you can ask ask her one question please sure you put into the record you're familiar with the D standard obviously ma okay you put into the record um relative to the na standard that this property is so uniquely suited for this use that there are no other properties in the township which come even close to the uniqueness of this property because it's a 100y old school and a 4 and a half acre site is that your testimony that it is uniquely suited because it's an anomaly that there are not many properties that would have similar features with an old school on 4.45 acres of land located in a in in in an area that would be appropriate an anomy being that there are no other schools on 4 and a half in Franklin Township abandoned schools for over 20 years on 4 and a half acre lots I don't know exactly there might be one but this is one that would be another anomaly then well there is well an anomaly is something that exists as an anomaly there's another school on a large lot that's been abandoned it was recently sold so there's nothing about this property that makes it uniquely suited for this purpose your testimony is that this property is uniquely suited because it has an old abandoned building on it I mean by that standard half of Franklin Township would be particularly well suited for it's not just because it has the abandoned building had additional factors that went into it that related to the specific use that was proposed and how it fit into the building and the controls and the state regulations that went along with that so it was more than just the fact that it's an abandoned building on the property okay that's it thank you thank you [Music] anyone else anybody else want to be heard make a motion to close the public portion oh oh I'm sorry I just was waiting [Music] I my name is Lori goldsmid and I do s as the what's your address your address uh 206 Char Tre Court thank you okay now you can do the hand swear to tell the truth I do thank you so uh I live on 206 Char Tree Court which is the development with 42 homes right across the street basically the backyard of some of our people it would be able to see the can of us place the school that's there now so we are in a very residential area and we have Autumn Drive on the other side yeah so we're all there and I believe we all would be against it nobody in that I know of bought a house for three four up to $700,000 and then put improvements in it to be in a neighborhood with a cannabis farm so that's my thing and I think if it's not already zoned for it why do it it's across the street from the school in a residential area and that's it thank you thank you okay make a motion make a motion to close public oh sorry one more can your name and address please Alice 1777 Ro cville okay swear to tell the truth there I certainly do thank you I um did some reading on the New Jersey code for applicant to cultivate micro business and njac 17306 27 and the last portion of it says at least 51% of the number of total persons included in a micro business license application or license holder including all owners principes and employees shall be residents of either the municipality which the mical business business or it will be located or a municipal directly pouring such municipality at the time of the application so I don't believe this ER lives in our municipality actually lives in high nights and there may be a uh my leg are Shak sorry uh uh discrepancy between cannabis and H as far as I could find out he has a hemp on not a cannabis one now that might be just a different interpretation of what cannabis is but uh on his site he sells smokable H it's all out right now but it is there but as far as uh there's so many other places in the township or in New Jersey that would be better suited for this my opion thank you thank [Music] you hello uh Simons 205 Church recort raise your right hand please to tell the truth yes um so my major concern so I live very close as well I'm a friend of or neighbor of Lor's um and don't live very far um think we've heard a lot of you know reaction from the community that lives close by and in the township that you know many of us are not in are not in favor of this GL fall backwards uh the owner spoke on the odor uh regarding when the flowers smell and how often Etc um it went through the amount of weeks etc etc per classroom um and then there was also uh testimony regarding no substantial detriment to the community I believe that was a specific uh comment from the owner um of Garden State I Believe Miss marsy uh spoke of no substantial impact to the community Mr rup said that uh something echoed similar comments and he's been in many many buildings Etc um the only thing is that what I see is that most of them they don't live in this community uh they don't live in this neighborhood and aren't going to have to face the impact of when there is the impact of the odor in the community um they spoke on this cannab ster odor mitigation system that is so terrific but even just a quick Google search and vo seems to be one of the major issues that anybody that lives close to a facility has so if they're so great why is there still such a problem um um and I would just say I guess you know I would just say it's not in uh the industrial Zone it's an agric residential agricultural Zone um and and I would say so you know obviously in my opinion don't approve it um Miss Mory kept using the word unique to this site unique to this site um and I would say that 123 students at a a daycare uh facility I would call that pretty unique to this site as well as probably I don't know 100 homes within a half a mile as a as a crowly so um I would just say not in my backyard I'm just not of it so thank you for hearing me out thank you [Music] [Music] name and address please Mike Miller 119 Peach Tree Drive truth on your what you got to say he stated multiple times that it was 4 to 6 weeks of flowering time and that's the time that the plant generally has an odor he has four classrooms to that's 24 weeks a year that my house has to deal with this smell Which is less than a mile from his place has there been any health studies on what it also does it may not smell but how does it impact my health forever since you all of you were this big you were told weed is bad for you weed is bad for you all of a sudden taxpayers I mean boards and and places they're like oh we can get money for this weed that we've been told that was since we were this big all my kids went to that preschool guess where they wouldn't have went if there was a place across the street gr we they wouldn't have went there I have three kids in this District six or seven kids in my street go there that preschool walks down my street every single day during the summer Sher takes him out all the time I wave to him guess what if it stinks outside they're not going outside but the truth of the matter is the building's not going to be there anymore they're going to have to close down that preschool because it is 24 weeks go put it in industrial Zone they want this building here because it's $250,000 wait till he sees the cost on repairing this place he hasn't had a structural engineer in this place yet good luck it's 100 years old thank you thank you okay anybody want to make a motion make a motion to close the public for second all in favor all right all right okay uh an opportunity for me to close oh yes a rebuttal on your part address some of the questions of the uh neighbors Sor yeah so I do have some closing comments I will ask address there were a couple of questions directly to him so there was a question regarding hazardous please speak into the mic there was a question regarding hazardous substances at the uh for the uh use still can't hear you can you please speak to that as far as hazardous substances go at the site um we're looking at ethanol extraction which is um it's a flamable of course it is but it's no different than um that would probably be and then again that's in the extraction process that uh John monovich and I are going over and then we're not even set on that's necessarily going to be used if you know if there's an issue we're not committing to saying well we have to have ethanol it's not um it's definitely not on the table to remove it as far as the processing there are other manag Manu there are solventless there's a nice water bath uh technique to remove the um oil from the plants that also works as well just maybe not as efficient as the ethanol does but um whatever you do will be governed and to by state law correct right we we we can't get your testimony from same the state regulations will be followed for all safety measures okay I think those are all the questions that were directed to you have any others um I'll would just say that the uh fire suppression system that is currently in place there is a a the school has a uh hard piped uh fire suppression system in in the building currently and that obviously would be a part I know there was a gentleman with a question on the fire that it burns hotter than anything else but it is all sprink Clute with a hard system already thank you thank you so just a few closing comments um obviously the board has heard a lot of testimony from the applicant and our Witnesses and from members of the public um we understand appreciate the public coming out um making their voices known making their concerns know um a couple things I'd like to emphasize reiterate in response to the public comment so there's a lot of testimony regarding the fact that this is not an industrial Zone this use is permitted in industrial zones we acknowledge that that's why we're here before you tonight seeking that variance we you uh from right off the bat our position was that this is a use variance we know it's not permitted in the ra Zone but we think it is appropriate for this property because of the specifics of this proposed use now is this building is this property uniquely suited for this use we think so because of the proposed micro business proposed micro facility and the dimensions the size the layout of the building is works well for this proposed building with minimal additional site improvements um no light impact on neighbors because of the hours of operation and the minimal security lighting that is required um no no no noise impact because all the operations are going to be conducted within a building obviously I think based on the public comment everyone here on the board knows odor is is the big concern that's obviously the concern that was raised most frequently by neighbors and is frequently raised on cannabis applications um the applicant has testified at some length about the state-of-the-art Oder mitigation system proposed for this building and let me just emphasize this is an indoor facility some other cannabis facilities I know the board has seen are large outdoor grows without odor uh mitigation substantially more plants than what are proposed for this use this is small in scale the odor is controllable through through the state-of-the-art systems and just for for the board's comfort and for the comfort of the public if this application is approved we're going to have to come back back before you to give you more specifics on everything before you uh tonight on the layout of the site on the proposed systems that we up that we plan to put in place there will be further detail on the uh not only on the on the engineered aspects of the site plan but on the odor mitigation and on the odor impacts to neighbors as well um this is a bated application we think this is an appropriate use for the reasons identified in the testimony um but uh the board will have a chance to review this again and hear more of the details on all of the technical aspects and all of the specifics so this approval would not give the applicant cart launch to Simply go forward without further checks and balances on everything that we testified to here tonight so I'd ask the board to give us that chance to continue the process move forward come back to you with fully engineered site plans and and further detail on the site plan and the odor mitigation system and every aspect of the proposed development um on that point I would note that many of the concerns raised by the public um for example raised with respect to the impact to the daycare and other neighbors are informed um more by what if then by what was actually testified to and the evidence that has been put before you as to the systems in place there is speculation as to you know uh there must be odor impacts and that's going to cause impacts to the neighbors and to the daycare I don't think the evidence bears that out I think the odor mitigation system you are a testimony from an experienced industry representative these systems are effective and we will provide further detail at the site plan stage and I think uh the board should consider whether it it's making it this decision based on the evidence before it or what ifs it aren't based on the technical details of the system um I also don't want the board to be misled as to statements regarding what federal law may require as to distance from a school or a daycare um it is not the case that a licensed cannabis facility in the state of New Jersey has to be a, F feet or more from a school or a daycare or a playground there are numerous cannabis facilities municipalities across the state that are substantially closer to such facilities many towns don't have any proximity limitations at all it is simply not a requirement that a cannabis facility be located any certain distance from those types of uses so I don't I want the board to be misled into thinking that federal law somehow requires denial it does not now um You Heard ample testimony from the applicant as to the operations you heard ample planning justification from Miss morsy as to the reasons why this is a suitable use for this location an Adaptive reuse of this building minimal development no additional density minimal traffic impact if any um we we think simply put when the board considers the evidence before it as to this as to the specifics of this application without being swayed by the what ifs by the what could potentially happen um I think the evidence clearly Bears out that this is an appropriate use for this location uh the property is particularly suited for it and the evidence Bears out that there's not going to be any substantial detriment to the public and we asked the board to approve his application and give us the chance to come back for site plan approval thank you thank you anybody have any questions any questions this way guess [Music] I come gentlemen I ask if somebody make a motion to give the basis for your motion whether it's through true or deny um what your opinion may be regarding what you've heard and why you're making a motion and also when you vote please also give some comment Regarding why you're voting the way you're vot I make a motion to deny because it's not an industrial area and two of my children and four of my grandchildren went to that nursery school and they would not go there if that was across the street from I'll second that motion so a vote when you do the roll call a vote of yes is to den not that's correct and if you could as I say elaborate on the reasons for your vote I would be appreciate Mr Leo you say Mr Leo yes yes um based on the fact I think it's I think it's a great business I just hope you that's that's the right area Mr Ketchum uh yes and I do agree with Mr Leo um you know I think we we put in place certain things that that should be followed and and this is one of them um I agree know we listen to the public and I hear you and and I in this case I do agree with you 100% mrow Mr G uh yes and same thing it's just in a wrong place we don't need it near any houses Mr cerie as I yes and as I stated in my motion and also it it's the township the zoning the master plan they want an industrial area and that's where it should be and I would have no problem if that's where it was Mr haml uh yes and I've seen a lot of applications come across for Canabis facilities I yet to see one that would fully satisfy me for fitting all the requirements for zoning and I would not be comfortable granting a variance for this particular application I'm fully support of of cannabis and I hope that one day we an application that would work for this town but not saying it here Mr felisi yes um I love the idea of something happening with that building rather than just sitting vacant and falling apart just don't this suit for that building um and after hearing the residents it's a no-brainer to to deny Vice chairman [Music] elius yes and uh I I think unfortunately the state tries real hard to make some money and and dealing in the marijuana to me me is not always the best way and then putting an OP any operation that grows an illegal drug it's not illegal I understand that but Neighbors are going to be uh afraid going to be nervous and I think they have every right to be and that's why I'm going to vote Yes for okay what else we got Michael we have a couple of last month's uh couple resolutions make opportunity people thank you very much it's a shame marijana become so freaking cheap yeah cheap it's cheaper we have two two resolutions for approval Vincent Angeles um was the VAR to construct the three additions to his existing single family home and that was granted make motion to approve second it Mr Ketchum yes Mr gell yes Mr deeser yes Vice chairman glaus yes so the other resolution is for Mystic bical form LLC which was denied and um I want to explain the vote on this the way the municipal ly law reads is that if it doesn't get five votes it's automatically denied um M also explains that there should be finding the fact and conclusions in your resolution so there's two ways to look at it you're finding the fact is that the law says didn't get five votes so it it went down um but also they'd like to see a basis for why that happened so in this case interestingly you have four people voted yes and two voted no um Mr Ban's law also says the people voting on The Resolution the only people voting on The Resolution are those who voted for the result so in this case only two people voted no so they voted for the result of denial so they could be only two people voting on The Resolution which would be Mr de and Mr ketcher so I did you know the resolution went out to everybody but I also sent the resolution out individually to each of them because there's some findings of fact in there um regarding the reason why they voted uh no to it so I just want to confirm Mr desar you did see the resolution and you reviewed I think there were six items regarding the basis for a no vote on that yes and is that yes that's your feeling satisfi okay uh Jim you also saw the resolution and saw those six items and does that accurately reflect what your reasons were yes you want you can make a motion i' make that motion I'll second I vote Yes I vote Yes okay make you sure the minutes will reflect that discussion okay we good here we are good nothing else for me okay make a motion to journ I make a motion toj second everybody