##VIDEO ID:KJZUiUQX0gU## the jcpd saying no on to the security plan so we may as well haveed them last time okay thank you all right good evening at the meeting of the Cannabis Control Board of Jersey City held Monday August 14th at approximately 5: P p.m. in accordance with the open public meeting act known as the Sunshine Law adequate notice this meeting was provided by mail or fax uh to the um the reporter no the Jersey journal the reporter is no longer a paper got to take that off cuz cannot remember that um to the Jersey Journal uh call to uh order uh you want me to do the roll call okay I I will chairperson bunny here Vice chairman cerero here commissioner kapitz uh commissioner Sloan is absent the reason she is on vacation is that correct correct is there a motion to excuse her absence motion is there a second second all in favor any opposed motion carries and then commissioner Marte Dublin here all right okay uh the CCB and its duties uh the Cannabis control board was created by the Jersey City municipal Council the CCB is a result of the council adopting an ordinance um we are not the planning board or the zoning board those boards were created by state legislation the Jersey Jee I'm sorry the Jersey City planning board or the zoning board will hear your application as to zoning and land use development issues according to to ordinance 22- 003 the CCB will consider the following factors and its determination to approve or deny your application Community impact and Outreach the number of cannabis establishments within close proximity less than 1,000 ft to the applicant just because a cannabis establishment is less than 1,000 ft from your application is not necessarily a negative factor each application must be evaluated on the totality of factors in the surrounding neighborhood hiring practices employed by the applicant residency of all applicants and owners the applicant's commitment to diversity and inclusion best practices Safety and Security plans if the board approves the application the board will issue a preliminary resolution of support once the applicant obtains State approval the applicant must return to the CCB for final approval the CCB shall provide final written approval or rejection within 60 days an applicant should could obtain preliminary approval from the CCB obtain State approval but be denied final CCB approval according to ordinance 21- 053 the CCB will ensure compliance with rules with local rules and regulations governing cannabis the city of Jersey City encourages and promotes the participation of minorities women and disabled veteran-owned cannabis businesses and by extension so shall the CCB the CCB shall require a class 5 cannabis retail business applicant to address concerns about the proximity of a proposed location to a substance abuse Treatment Center or a daycare center see that she just showed up her attorney's not here what do you want to do um if her attorney is not here we're going to move to the next one and she'll go to the end so uh the applicant for ort 444 your attorney yet to arrive right on his way all right fair enough so Vox Farms please step up and Rose when you get settled please enter your appearance into the record we need another chair whenever you want if he sends it to the CCB email wend Mar will get it Goa yes ma'am okay all right again uh welcome Rose please enter your appearance into the record briefly tell us what this application is about who's going to be testifying thank you good evening Rosemary moo Matos of the law office of Rosemary MOA Matos on behalf of applicant Vox Farms Vox Farms is a State Certified minority owned business minority and Veteran owned business with a micro business conditional class one cultivator license this evening Vox Farms seek CCB approval to operate its cultivation premises at an existing warehouse located at 80-90 Harrison Avenue speaking this evening on behalf of the applicant are Vox farms's majority owner and president Rodney ax their director of cultivation Franco pero and the minority owner and vice president Michael Zizi unless so you did mention veteran but not disabled veteran disabled veteran no all right who's your first witness Mr aox raise your right hand do you square airm the testimony about the give the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth shall help you God your witness counselor hi Mr V ACO I'm sorry can you um please provide the board with your background and explain you're going to speak to the community impact and Workforce Development correct uh yes I apologize uh please state your name spell your last name give us your address okay my name is Rodney acox last name is a y x I live at 283 Armstrong Avenue in Jersey City New Jersey 0730 5 thank you for that sir thank you members of the board for granting us this invaluable opportunity as I said I'm Rodney AO I'm a lifelong resident of Jersey City uh of New Jersey most of my time has been spent in Jersey City um I grew up on Grant Bergen Virginia Avenue uh in my formative years and over the last 20 or so years I've owned a house on Armstrong Avenue oops excuse me I have this prepared so I don't miss anything uh my wife and I have raised our CH our children within the folds of the local public school system our devotion to the city is unwavering and our commitment to its advancement and prosper Prosperity is Resolute Jersey City is not just our place of residence it is our cherished home my education unfolded within the Jersey City public school where I attended ps24 and academic High subsequently I pursued higher education at Ruckers University before going uh back to Jersey City making the conscious to choice to return to my hometown to enroll at NJCU formerly known as Jersey City State College I have proudly served in the United States Marine Corps during Operation Desert Shield Desert Storm currently I am a senior Pro uh project manager managing accounts of about $8 million for pharmaceutical advertising companies uh I'm leveraging my extensive background of 30 years and technology and my work at um the agency throughout my life I've en covered SE encountered several pivotal what's next moments that have led to me to this defining juncture during my time in Jersey City State I made a decision to serve my country and also challenged myself I enlisted in the United States Marine Marine Corps Reserves within the Marines I received several individual and units Awards an experience that continues to shape my sense of commitment and discipline following my return from Desert Storm a new Direction beckoned I resolved to chart a course in the it field prompting my enrollment at the chub Institute graduating from chub marked the beginning of my rewarding 30-year career in technology two years ago an entirely fres fres path revealed itself as I chose to embrace the burgeon and cannabis industry I had kicked around the idea many years earlier with my nephew and brother-in-law but up to that point uh it had been more of a dream and there had been no plan to make any um take any actions on that dream the decision was catalyzed during a reunion with my Marine Corps Brothers prompting contemplation of our individual Journeys we were gathering for the Marine Corp birthday in Virginia and visiting the Marine Museum in quanico as we discussed the past present and future the focus naturally sh shifted to again what's next with the beginning of the application process for cannabis businesses just a few months away we came to the decision that this was a business that we wanted to be involved in this Collective Pursuit is driven by diverse motivations but we're unified in our unwavering dedication our Endeavor not only holds the promise of financial Prosperity but also the potential to be a positive force within our community my upbringing has exposed me to the detrimental effects of the War on Drugs in our community I personally witnessed the arrest of individuals for possession and observe the professional repercussions suffered by those um penalized for using cannabis as the tide turns towards legalization I discerned an opportunity to actively contribute to the birth of birth of this nent industry amid my personal motivations a desire to uplift a community burdened by the weight of stringent cannaby laws cannabis laws holds prominence our vision encompasses collaboration with other organization to facilitate expungement aiding individuals and rebuilding their lives additionally we aim to create career opportunities and provide training empowering J jerse City residents to view cultivation as a viable and fulfilling career path this endeavor serves both Vox farms and the individual nurturing growth and prosperity quickly touching on our Workforce Development uh we will focus on hiring locally we will be looking to employ about five people with a combination of full time and seasonal workers uh the pay will start at about $20 an hour we will seek to partner with the New Jersey re-entry program to identify suitable candidates for employment we're targeting 20% of our Workforce to come from the re-entry program we will also provide continued training once we're hired um we hire someone to work for us our community involvement will include working with um some local community organizations one of which is backpack for life and another is community treasure these are both local organizations we're also partnering with the H the Hoffman centers as a sponsor to help people in the expungement processes we have an mou with backpack for life and we have a verbal agreement with Community Treasures I'm working on a written agreement with Community Treasures um as we speak uh thank you for bearing with me because I know it's a bit much in conclusion box Farms aspire to establish an enduring presence within Jersey City a venture that not only utilizes the city's resources but nurtures its long-term development we are committed to crafting a business that stands the test of time contributing positively and sustainably we extend our gratitude for considering our application and the potential transformative impact it holds thank you any questions this witness for this Witness residents within 200 fet any questions very quickly what are you going what are you going to be doing at the cultivation facility I am going to be uh uh basically a Swiss army knife um closer to theic oh thank you maybe I should sit up I'm going to be a swis army knife of types uh I will be uh doing most of the administrative tasks contacting customers customer support um customer fulfillment uh customer complaints very few of those we hope okay exactly any residents have questions for this witness hearing none seeing none next witness please raise your right hand this were from the testimony about to give the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth off you got yes I do please state your name spell your last name give us your address Franco parate that's p r r o t TI 21 Chand DOA Drive Newton New Jersey 07860 Mr par as a director of cultivation can you please walk the board through the operations um give them a provide them with a description of the facility and then also if you can touch upon odor mitigation and pest mitigation techniques that you plan on employing yes thank you the space that we have available to right uh to us right now is um 1750 square feet and we're breaking that down into five rooms two will be grow rooms one is 670 ft and the other is 480 ft everything is well below what's required or what's the maximum limit for a micro business um the other rooms will have a drying and curing room uh a processing room a propagation room where we'll have our seeds and clones and the remaining 2030 ft is going to be um between hallways utility rooms and bathrooms um we' veral going two single tier we for odor mitigation we have contact we have contracted with Bier scientific they seem to be the leading company um right now in cannabis Odor Control they have phds on staff who have actually um figured out what the molecules are that give cannabis that skunk smell and they're pioneering ways to mitigate that smell so not only are they providing us with their molecular filtration units that we're going to be placing in the rooms and in the hallways but they're um they're going to be um preventive maintenance also meaning they will come to the facility they'll measure the tures in the air and say listen you need additional equipment or you don't correct and they will also be monitoring once a filter is change they will tell us when to change the filter the filter gets sent to them they analyze the filter and they'll know how much of it is used so we will never fully use a filter so that way there's no chance of odors escaping the building um the LA only require that the Oder not leave the property line however if there are some complaints from residents I'm sure you you'll address that correct right correct we have an ongoing maintenance contract with them so it's not that they're going to set us up and leave us they'll be there you know for regular maintenance thank you and then we will also have an integrative Pest management system uh four steps in that uh number one is prevention uh preventing the pest from either entering the building um sanitation uh quarantine any new plants uh cultural practices as far as air circulation keeping the humidity down um hygiene as far as the workers and the building also keeping everything and if we do all those steps we're not going to need chemicals we we don't want to use any chemical pesticides in the building I don't think you're allowed state state law does not permit you to use any type of and we won't be yeah we don't want Jeff smoking stuff that's got poison in it no sir I'm sorry go ahead and if there are any insects we would have uh we would bring in predatory insects like ladybugs or L swings to take care of that and that's all I have for that okay any questions uh for Mr parate how big is the building the building our space in the building is 1,750 fet and the overall square footage of the building is much greater I believe so yes cuz in your business buiness plan uh it talked about uh you're going for a micro business which is 2500 ft or less but in your business plan it talks about expanding into more of the building over time is that correct yes and I'm sorry um I mean I can answer that so they have discussed with the with the landlord an option you know if they were to get convert their license to micro to expand within the existing structure okay but they're currently only Leasing 150 then you would reapply to the state for have to regular cultivation license yeah we' have to apply to convert the micro business to uh standard standard okay and I I I don't know whether or not they would be required to come back here but you know you may be looking at a tier one right it's a pretty big office space I mean I saw 25,000 down here no I thought it was about 10,000 stake on that okay we we would only have oh thank you um I think the option we have is maybe to increase up to 2500 probably a little bit less than that um our goal is definitely to increase to Beyond a micro business but I don't know if we'd be able to do it at that property and I don't even know how long it would take for our us to grow our business to that point fair enough how many plants in that space in that space um there's going to be a total of 138 plants they're Limited to a th000 a month are they okay all right any other questions from Mr parate from the board members hearing none seeing none from members of the public hearing none seeing none next witness please raise your sorry do you square affirm the testimony about to give you the truth the hold truth and nothing but the truth to help you out I do please state your name spell your last name give us your address my name is Michael Zizi z l e zi my address is 665 Jamaica Boulevard Toms River New Jersey 08757 all right so the application has you down in Manchester yes um is that still accurate yes that's accurate it's a zip code uh one ZIP code says Manchester the other says Tom's River all right yes thank you for that all right your witness Mr Zizi can you please provide the board with your background and briefly explain the plans for security and uh Regulatory Compliance at the facility yes so I'm a Marine Corps veteran a veteran of Desert Shield Desert Storm and I have had a law enforcement background I've been in law enforcement for close to 35 years now so what I bring to the table with my security background and my uh numerous trainings and certifications with state and federal government with critical Asset Management critical infrastructure protection and threat assessment doing the security for our facility is pretty easy take a uh outside approach looking in and just uh follow the steps basically of a threat assessment so I will be working with DGA security one of the security companies that we're going to contract with and we're talking exterior lighting exterior cameras and surveillance to uh multiactor entrance just to get into the building with a fob or key and some kind of biometric whether it's a fingerprint or a iris scan and then once we get inside more uh more cameras uh depending on which room we're focusing on and and what room we want to surveil along with uh entry limited entry to some of our rooms our grow room and uh our drying room and where uh it's almost like going to be a vault on the interior uh as well as uh with the exterior lighting proper interior lighting and uh motion sensors for for the roof and the ceiling and also any of the walls uh we are connected to other buildings and then in case uh somebody would have an idea to maybe intrude on our space without being seen we'll be able to be that'll be able to be detected and we will contract with a security company that'll monitor us 24/7 and reach out to the police as well as us should there be an alarm or an intrusion at the building and also with uh with my background I have extensive experience in policy management and uh compliance and Regulatory Compliance throughout all the different uh guidelines and all the laws throughout the state so that's also going to help us with State compliance board compliance and any kind of local compliance that uh that we need to fulfill uh so on that note um we did and receive uh from the Jersey City police department that they denied your security plan because they need additional information regarding your General Security policies operational security alarm system overview video system overview um the access visitor system overview employee training storage and inventory control cash handling techniques waste disposal Transportation techniques lighting and nuisance prevention and your emergency response plan I wasn't aware of that oh yeah neither were we so aenda and Maria after this can we ask them to have this to us at least a week in advance cuz it's not fair to the applicant to find out the day of um cuz we we won't approve an application if the Jersey City police department has denied your security plan yes we we just won't vote so why don't does anyone have any questions for them about their testimony so that because then when they come back they can just if Dave Calton signs off on this then we can vote so um I think we have to ask you're a micro business right yes okay so you can only hire 10 employees we know that um do what's your plan we have to ask this what's your plan for hiring how much do you intend to pay the employees oh said right um I thought I mentioned that the beginning uh we're planning on hiring about five uh five people it's going to be a combination of full-time and seasonal employment and we're going to start at $20 an hour and benefits right now we have not um you you hav't figured on exactly I I think we're going to have to go with a third party um HR company so we're can have a package of yeah no of course you're a small business that makes sense yes um I um had a question as well do you have anybody else to speak here on behalf um of any of Theus or any programs that you'll be working with if they did come today I I think it would be reasonable to allow them to speak yeah I believe I have Tina so it's it's not public comment yet yeah it's not yet I just again because will have some jcpd declined um I wanted to make sure you get an opportunity for them to speak I will have um I do have an assigned mou and a signed letter of Community Support all right so let's take a step I'm sorry go ahead uh I have an issue I read through your application your qualif qualifications are superb you fit every Mark that we want in an you know an applicant and maybe your council could also uh respond and if not uh maybe for the next meeting you can give me further explanation uh you received a zoning letter from Tanya Malone Marion Marion that's her name oh sorry anyway um saying that this is an R1 one and two family housing district and that since the warehouse is a legally non-conforming use pre-existing the zoning that it and cannabis is allowed in industrial uh Warehouse Auto Repair Garage auto shop Etc I I I I'm sorry I I can hear folks in the audience speaking would you please be a little bit more respectful we'll make sure we do the same with you it's a bit distracting to hear two or three voices at the same time thank you and that she basically her opinion was that since this is a industrial building that's pre-existing legally non-conforming use even though it's in the R1 Zone that cannabis is allowed in it um I have a problem with that I don't believe that her opinion is right uh because it opens a can of worms that any warehouse in any District if it's could be utilized above and beyond that uh zoning uh Council would you like to respond to that and you know a little further clarification if you're not prepared for this to the next meeting let me jump in first myself and and and commissioner kaplet have had this discussion uh at the end of the day um you know my opinion is it's it's irrelevant whether you have to go to the zoning board or the planning board uh this board first needs to determine whether or not you're a good fit uh for Jersey City having said that the issue is still out there uh and uh commissioner kaplowitz wanted it to be placed on the record and he has done so no absolutely um and and initially we did uh the client was denied uh a zoning determination a zoning determination letter on the basis that this was an R1 zone right um and this was from then zoning Officer Nick Taylor um in his letter he provided them an opport Unity to appeal which is what he did they submitted an appeal um they provided various documents including tax records to show that um and I know you disagree with the opinion but that the property has a pre-existing commercial use as warehouse and on tax records it's listed as commercial and what Tanya is relying on is language within the ordinance says that if you have a pre-existing use that's commercial then they will allow it so this appeal did not go to the zoning board for an interpretation it went back to the zoning officer and you were able to convince the zoning officer that you're in the right place okay issue resolved I'm not going to argue with the the zoning officer or the director of City Planning if she feels that it's I mean that's her job so I'm going to take Tanya at her word well I'd like a little more further clarification um well I guess whatever this and I this isn't the ccb's job that's the zoning board and the planning doesn't matter I'm going to talk about it if I want to that's the bottom line I have a concern about you know how things process in Jersey City so I'm going to continue you got a problem with that that's too bad I don't have a problem with it I'm just telling you that's not your job on this board your job is to see if they're a good fit it's not to be the I I know you liked being the chairman of the planning board so but that's this is not the planning board or the zoning board well Le let's do this Jeff you have raised the issue um I I certainly have expressed my opinion with you privately and at this meeting that it's irrelevant whether they go to the zoning board wish them the best of luck or the planning board but it it's not before us this issue is not to be decided by us we can't decide it we have no jurisdiction to decide it and the zoning official has already who has a lot of latitude and a lot of discretion she has already decided the issue I sent her a a memo which you had a copy of and you know let's wait and see what happens continue thank you um I mean with respect to the zoning that I I am also aware of your concerns you know the issue and um I guess at this point we just have to wait for Tanya to respond um at some point we would have to work our way back over there yes but even if it it's not for us to decide we can't deny you based on zoning or planning that's out of our purview so that's an issue you have to take up with them our issue is are you a good fit for the community and what the ordinance lays out for us to to sit here and discuss so do we have any other questions so let me take a step back Mr zissi you're finished with your testimony any board members have any questions from Mr zissi hearing none just one more Point sir that I we would work with Jersey City and a private security and uh have uh schedule and pay for random patrols scattered throughout the month uh just just because I feel that would be the best way for us to handle a a random officer there or a random security couple hours one night a week or spaced out randomly picked just to have an added layer of security and an added layer of eyes on the facility smart move because most of the thieves don't steal your weed they want your lights yes um with that is your security armed or unarmed it wouldn't for the jerseys to contract with the Jersey City police as a road job they would certainly be armed but we wouldn't necessarily need an armed security service uh to have eyes on and just to keep an eye on the building walk around the outside and just be an extra set of eyes that they could call the police and report if there was something suspicious any other questions for this witness hearing none seeing none aenda can you print out uh what jcpd oh Marquia did so they can have a copy before they leave so they know what the issues were thank you any questions for this witness from folks in the audience hearing none seeing none we'd close that public portion are there any other witnesses that you have not um Witnesses but I believe there are some members of the audience what's your pleasure are we going to take public com all right a public comment you're limited to uh three minutes if you'd like to speak for or against this application please come up to the podium welcome sir please raise your right hand the square Fromm the testimony about to give you the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you God can put your hand down please state your name spell your last name and give us your address the mic yeah if you could just uh turn on the mic and speak into the mic please hello Sean Hurley last name h u r l y I live at 468 Walton Road in Maple New Jersey what would you like to tell the board sir I'd like to tell the board that um box farms uh is an improvement to this building uh my mother-in-law is the landlord of this building it's been in her family since 1917 uh it is a commercial um property and it is grandfathered in commercial um unless we were to tear down the buildings and rebuild in which case it would be R1 so I just want to to state that fact that it has it it is a commercial building it has been since 1917 and grandfathered in to her family from her dad um with that uh Vox Farms is a major Improvement to this property um we've rented it to you know there are a multiple uh spots on this property that my mother-in-law rents to over the years and what Vox Farms is doing is stabilizing the property making it more secure making it better for all of the neighbors around there and we are really excited to have them in here um and look forward to your approval thank you very much anyone else yeah Tina n is here all right welcome be would you be so kind as to raise your right hand the square fir the testimony about to give be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth shall help you God yes please state your name spell your last name and give us your address into the microphones Tina Tina the last name is NOS n a l LS I live at 450 Martin Luther King Drive Jersey City New Jersey what would you like to tell the board um I would like to tell the board I just thank um them for picking our organization everyone know I be in a community and it's a blessing that they came just to see exactly what I do as giving back to the community and not even giving back to the community for them also helping the community as giving something to the people that I'm interacting with as giving job and educ educating them and also you know just showing them a different rout of of getting jobs and stuff in our communities so we definitely need that we definitely need the funds because that's how the way I get paid I don't get grants and stuff the dispensaries is the one who helped me and continue for me to continue to grow in the community and able to me and my family to continue to help the community so I want to appreciate yall and I thank you thank you anyone else all right hearing none seeing none we're going to close that public portion so the hearing is essentially over uh but at the next meeting uh the board will review the updated security plans make sure that there aren't any deficiencies and then uh formally vote for or against the application great yeah so I motion to uh table no second oh you got to do the you're doing the roll call yeah why don't we do this all in favor I any opposed hearing none seeing none the matter we'll see you thank you thank you very much see you on September 12th September 12th September 12th it is sorry thank you yeah that's interesting so what am I doing here brne me my call this one um truck with the Lord okay next application is uh art 44 all right as soon as you get squared away Council nice to see again please enter your appearance into the record and uh we'll get moving here likewise uh Walter Den Neely appearing for the applicant good evening and is altino of art 44 company LLC welcome nice to see you again I'm sorry Mr Kitz I didn't hear you go ahead uh for the record for the record uh I reviewed the recording on YouTube over the weekend of your last hearing to update myself uh on where you are in this application I was present first presentation very well thank so you're now he's now eligible to vote thank you okay so I I think let's just try to be brief here the issue that we keep going back and forth with you about is your community impact plan and what you intend to do so um I mean I think that's really the only thing that we're waiting on right yep for the record uh there has been since the last hearing introduced or presented to the board uh a memorandum of understanding with uh it your move Inc and there also was an updated Community impact plan I trust the board has had an opportunity to review those documents I think they address the uh concerns that were expressed at the last public hearing uh and I I don't I don't want to belabor your time if if you have questions we'd be happy to address them at this point well I think the issue is that the applicant can't seem to articulate to us what she intends to do in the community she's just given very vague like I can do that or well no right I mean that that's I don't think we've heard anything concrete from her about what she intends to do um why don't we do this Mr neie your client remains sworn why don't you tell the board what the game plan is I thought my last um submission I don't know if you received it or not well the chair person would like to hear from I I don't I don't have anything no mine was very specific and I also um introduced a memorandum of understanding and I have the um companies that I'm going to work with in the in the community as well that are here to report tonight I sent that probably today is August 14th I said I I don't want to go back and forth with you I want you to explain to the board which is what we've asked you every time you've been here what your community impact plan is we want to hear you say it on the record just like we make every other applicant do this is no different than what we make every single person who comes in front of this board do so the public does not see these emails that you sent us only the board members see them so if you don't articulate it on the record like everyone else did it makes it look like we're not doing our job J so I don't want to debate with you that you sent it I see it you sent it on July we received it on July 27th so we understand the question is what is your community impact plan specifically I'm going to be working with Mr Robert Stewart Jr who's here in the audience tonight with his program well I will be providing Transportation cost as well as the other need that I have um specified there in my submission which will be every 3 months or as required with his program also um Monique technique that has been in the community McGinley Square Community for I think over 30 years I am specifically going to help her with her mohir foundation to provide I I know it says their are coupons but that would not be accurate it would be that I would help purchase wigs for a particular Foundation she's also here in the audience and that I am also going to host and ensure that there will be expungement clinics that will specifically address anyone with any prior marijuana charges and I will have a facility at that time to make sure because that's a big project to make sure that I will address that have the specific people in involved which would be a prosecutor public defender a judge involved in order to address those issues and that would be on a yearly basis any questions from the board members I um I have more of a clarification and theou it says that you'll provide um for at least the lunch cost for at least three uh months of the year at least three months right not every 3 months right but at least month transportation and lunch cost for his specific program and he's here to address that more specifically but that I have already agreed to him in the memorandum of understanding that I would provide that that's what that's what I quoted yes I literally have it right in front of me that's what I [Music] quoted anything else from uh board members anything from residents within 200 feet sorry residents period or folks in the audience going back to zoning and planning hearing none seeing none um any other Witnesses Mr yes I would call Robert Stewart all right Mr Stewart steuart you can come here if you'd like this good evening good evening sir would you please raise your right hand do you square affirm the testimony about to give you the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you God I do you put your hand down please state your name spell your last name give us your address Robert Bobby Stewart r o b t b o BB y s e w a r t welcome Mr Stewart what's your address uh 11 W Street Georgia city all right your witness Mr neie okay Mr Stewart you're involved with a entity called It's Your Move Inc can you tell us what that uh organization does okay first I'm a lifelong Jersey City resident I love Jersey City um it move incorporate is a nonprofit organization and our mission is to empower communities through the Arts the Arts being media uh uh chess and mental health um we impact uh incarcerated as well as uh seniors we partner with Jersey City Health and Human Resources far as impacct and Senior program we partner with uh the Jersey City free public library bares uh public schools and we've been doing this for uh nearly 10 years and um we also partner with explorers uh Outpost this this uh company in uh New York City in partnership with the Port Authority what we do we provide internships and jobs for high school seniors as well as college students and um I'm excited to be a recipient of this uh gracious uh gesture and uh that's what we do now you've entered into this memorandum of understanding is that correct with uh my client uh art 44 company uh art dispensary and what specific benefits do you intend to receive from us as a part of that well our our goal is to impact um the various um communities in positive manners um we do special events um far as our traveling expenses uh three months out of the year we take the youth over to the world trade for a month um and we we need you know more cours to to uh to satisfy that and uh then buying equipment for um our chess events and things of that nature so these funds would be used for those purposes for the these uh Community these Youth and community members yes I I have no further questions of this witness all right anything from the board members hearing none seeing none members of the public hearing none seeing none any other Witnesses Mr Ney I have none at this point ask excuse me she's here okay Miss Monique can address it understood I call at this time uh Moni SM Monique Smith and Andrews go you it can swap out Mr Stewart thank you hello thank you Bobby welcome please raise your right hand the were firm the testimony about to give you the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you God put your hand down please state your name spell your last name give us your address my name is Monique Smith Andrews a n d r e WS I am the owner of Monique techniques for over 35 years and I'm also proprietor of mohir foundation where I give free wigs to men women and kids who lose their hair to cancer alopecia any type of skin and scalp disorders all right Mr Ney your with and you uh are the the mohare foundation uh has agreed to work with my client and what can you tell us what your understanding of the arrangement is um I was told that they were going to help provide services for me to um pay for the wigs a certain you know percentage towards the wigs on a monthly basis and also uh participate in my fundraising events that I have on a yearly basis I do once a year did they tell you how much was it $5 percentage the say 5% of on a yearly basis not on a monthly basis yeah so it says 05% of its net revenue on a yearly basis to provide salon coupons to the community for hair services there you go I I have no further questions I think that explains what's what's being offered uh to this nonprofit and just to clarify again the it will not be coupons because what she provides is um hair reconstruction on a it's for free it's SC it's a free service so I would be helping to purchase the wigs that she needs for hair reconstruct so that was something that we just wanted to clarify that it won't be coupons because it's not something that these particular clients are selling we're not selling so it it will be an act actual cash contribution from your revenues right all right then any other questions board members of this witness folks in the audience hearing none seeing none any other Witnesses Mr Neely I have none at this time all right um let's open it up to the public either for or against application hearing none uh seeing none uh Mr neilly if you'd like to sum up or any closing remarks yes this is this is our I think it's our third fourth or fourth appearance uh I think that we've listened to the concerns of the board and uh We've addressed them uh throughout we had a similar situation you may recall that your last applicant had where at the last minute there was an objection from the police department that we just became aware of at the time of the hearing we promptly addressed that we promptly presented a written plan uh we engaged security expert we've dealt with that we took very seriously the concerns raised at the last meeting about the uh lack of concreteness of the community impact efforts I think we've addressed that even though we're not requ IR ired to we've entered into a memorandum of understanding with Mr Stewart's organization and I think we've acted in good faith and based upon that uh I would urge that the board approve uh my client's application thank you Mr neilly back to the board discussion motion have to say something we're not sitting here all night we're definitely not Jeff you're not a man a few words so make a motion going to work session is there a second second all in favor I any opposed you're in work session so essentially the work session is not a give take they will have their discussion we're not looking for any input unless of course one of the Commissioners asks you a specific question very wellcome so starting it off um they've addressed the security issue with the police department uh they've come back a few times uh and I will say that the application was deficient uh starting off reading through uh uh I mean viewing the YouTube uh there was a lot of discussion to to clarify the social impact of the community so uh I ask my fellow board members are you satisfied with that I think don't be shy I'm not shy I'm trying to really process how I want to put this into words um I do appreciate moare Foundation being here and sharing some testimony to what will be the contribution from this dispensary um uh from the art dispensary um I do appreciate Mr Stewart Stewart also coming to speak um and a testimony um but I I I myself can only speak for myself I don't know if I feel like you have satisfied all that we've asked in the last previous meetings I'm is it distracting you okay it's okay thank you if you guys want to talk if you could just go in the hallway cuz she's got to type everything that's being said that's that that was my statement so uh Jose basically and I agree with you that the from every applicant we've heard has been and again going through the previous application uh which I will say that my previous uh board I Incorporated that into this board which I was basically being say that that should be on the side that this board is here to see how an applicant is going to incorporate themselves into the community and how they will move forward in that community so um and and it's very very um it's not detailed as much as the other what 55 applications that we've seen I think we've seen a lot more than 55 that's how many I think we just said yes to okay so this would be 61 61 um most of all the testimony that we've heard has been really on how they're going to incorporate themselves in the local community the street the uh business functions uh and you know the application you know from the meetings that I sat through and the YouTube uh presentation from July um didn't really incorporate a lot of that coming on to the board go ahead just this is just my second meeting and I didn't previously hear her I know that she's been tabled I think like two times previous to this time that's exact I I have to agree where I it I don't not want to say I don't feel as comfortable listening to other applicants come together and I know that Mo Foundation is an incredible organization and she does so much to the community but even with having the percentage of the amount and then not know if it's a coupon or it's if it's going to be contributed monetary to her that's what makes me feel like kind of a little on edge of those um commitments being fulfilled on such an organization that has done incredible work in Jersey City for so many years it just it feels shaky yeah any other comments from the board members before we go back into the regular session the only thing I want to note is we do have these distance inquiries in front of us and um there is one less than under 600 ft it doesn't have full Municipal support um but it is only 449 ft away from the proposed location and then there is one um that's 1,73 Square ft away that has full Municipal support which basically means this one is probably pending State approval but ready to open so um it's a little more than 1,000 ft but it is still pretty close so I just want to make sure you guys are aware of that any other comments from board members all hearing none seeing none motion to go back into the regular session motion is there a second second all in favor I any opposed all right motion for or against the application can I is there [Music] any all right um I want to make a motion to deny this application I'll second all right um okay chairperson bunny I am am going to support uh Jeff and Jose and also vote no uh so a a yes vote would be a oh I'm I'm sorry I vote Yes to deny in support of Jeff's concerns and uh Jose's concerns I understand it's confusing so for the rest of the board members a yes vote would be a vote to deny the application all right so the chair has voted yes uh Vice chairperson cerero yes yes uh commissioner kaplowitz yes all right and commissioner Marte Dublin yes all right so unfortunately the motion does not well the motion does carry to deny I wish your client the best of luck thank you very much thank you all right with the board's permission the next application is K buds Jersey City good evening nice to see you again as always when you get situated please enter your appearance into the record and U let the board know what this application is about and who's going to be testifying I usually have a bunch of people I only have one 100% well the board's happy to see that and hear that ready your appearance for M on of fox Rothchild I'm here on behalf of K buds so kind buds will be run by Michael Daniel sitting right next to me Jersey City n native graduate from Dickinson High School then he went to Montclair State and got a degree in exercise science uh Mr Daniel has some entrepreneurial experience as well for the last three years he's owned and operated blind's Cafe over on mallerie Avenue um what has impressed me about Mr Daniel is his approach to this project um he didn't just go out and get a conditional license like many people or come straight to the this board and try to get an approval and then get stuck in the mud when they realize haven't raised enough money to actually get the thing done uh Mr Daniel went out and got his ducks in a row before he even called me before he even applied uh in addition to the retail experience running the cafe he went out and got Hands-On training went to California spent a year where working at a dispensary then he also went out and got support from experienced operators that support coming in the form of marketing compliance and Human Resources help from a company that has 10 retail stores in California West Virginia and Pennsylvania and finally um he went out and got the money found an investor willing to give him seven figures uh loaned him enough money to get started and and profitable the proposed location is 545 Newark Avenue Avenue there's commercial District as we all know anybody drives to New York Avenue no schools within the buffer zone he's not seeking a consumption Lounge um yes but the concern that I would raise here is that you have 535 nework Avenue this is 545 nework Avenue 655 nework Avenue and you have 638 Newark Avenue and I I don't know if it happens to you guys but when I'm out in public I do get a lot of push back that we're turning Newark Avenue into the strip of cannabis and people are not pleased with that so um I would say I already have an issue with the location because I I I I just think that we're putting too many on new Yark Avenue I mean I agree I I don't think that it's too close in proximity they're just too close in proximity and I I in in this I'm going to say that my concern would be that there has not been enough neighborhood Outreach because I would imagine that the neighborhood would be here complaining if they knew because this is basically the hilltop area in Journal Square um and Ward SE and I do think that there is concern about the number that are going on new Yark Avenue particularly on this strip of Newark Avenue which is right by the courthouse um have you guys met with Hilltop um block Association would you please raise your right hand do you square airm the testimony about to give you the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you God I do please state your name spell your last name and give us your address my name is Michael Daniel last name d n i e l my address is to Tribeca Avenue Jersey City Welcome Mr Daniel your question have you met with Hilltop Block Association I have not I have not I have met with other uh businesses in that on that same block yes but not the commun and I suggest that a meeting is um I just I think I agree with you Sonia I think before we even can consider this application you need to do more neighborhood Outreach you need to meet with uh the councilman because I just to me personally to put there's basically four right on top of each other MH um and and I I I feel bad I don't like denying these applications but I also we want fair to our community and know they know exactly what's happening with them and they're a very active black Association um that are very opiniated and especially having as the chairwoman has said all of these close together and not feel that you've reached out to them is kind of like like they're being blindsided yeah they're being blindsided they're not going to feel like they're a part of the community or that you even care to speak with them I think before we can move further I really do suggest that you meet with the Block Association and their council person I mean with in less than 12,00 UND ft there's 1 2 3 4 this would be the fifth and there are two that have full Municipal support which means right around they're just waiting on the state to approve them to do their buildout and then they can open so and and technically what we were told is that the pin goes in the map when there is full local Municipal support right so and there's that means and and of listen this is well within the board's Charter to look at that and if something is saturated you certainly could deny it based on that you you could approve it and say well we think four can survive but that is up to the board right but I also think that there's the big component that's missing is the communication with Hilltop and that area that Community Mr muan it looks like the handwriting is very big on the wall um any objection to the board adjourning this to would be September uh meeting would that be enough time for you to meet with the Block Association uh and see if you're willing to come and support your application etc etc absolutely I I do have a question for the board and with all due respect yeah um the two dispensaries that are on the same block that have full approval they're less than 200 feet from each other so um 535 and myself 5:45 we are less than 200 feet from each other um yeah no we listen we understand but well 638 Newark Avenue was one of the first ones we ever heard that's MMD so oh no that's not an MMD I'm sorry 655 was one of the first ones we heard and then [Music] um well this is kind of where it gets complicated because we were told go ahead Jee here's a concern I just came back from a trip to Oregon in Washington and the Cannabis industry is collapsing out West cultivators are going bankrupt an ounce of cannabis now sells for $99 businesses are closing up and what we're creating here is a situation that an oversaturation in any business district will cause in my opinion a 50% bankruptcy failure for those business businesses it doesn't make sense to saturate any one business district and right now there's probably about three business districts that will see massive vacancies in their business district yeah we have to start taking a look at this in a sense that one cannabis is not going to stay at $4 $500 an ounce it's going to collapse businesses cannot deduct their Business course so therefore they're paying a higher tax rate than everybody else and you're going to barely exist so we have to take into consideration the social impact of the neighborhood the commercial district and the city as a whole and it should be spread out across the city in any business district is going to be disaster within 5 years I agree with Jeff and I also just want to say that which has been said many times we kind of built the plane as we were flying it and so unfortunately now that we're 61 well now you're 62 applications in now we're starting to see the repercussions of the public and how they feel about the decisions that we've made and there is a lot of displeasure and and a lot of bad feedback specifically about Central Avenue nework Avenue uh Westside Avenue and and there like I don't know is Jersey City 21 or 26 square miles I mean there's there's roughly about 21 okay so there's plenty of locations to put them and I personally don't feel comfortable cramming them all on Newark Avenue I don't think that's fair um so and and also we were told in in very specific specific terms that we're really supposed to focus on the location once somebody has full Municipal support because that basically means unless they don't have the funding they have they have that location and they are planning to open their business so we know that there is 655 is going to open 638 is going to open and 535 is just waiting on the city council so to me I mean we can table it but I also I just I I feel uncomfortable with the number of locations on specifically Central Avenue Newark Avenue and Westside and Westside Avenue I I think that there are other I I personally think there's too many in the city at all at this point but I I certainly think that making these like cannabis clusters is not what the the the community impact is how it affects the residents of Jersey City right and so I don't think that people want want five cannabis locations on one block no and I don't think the business owners are going to actually see a profit even with five on one block we're not you're not going to see any much revenue on there no you're going to see minimum 50% failure you just can't you can't maintain the cost of rent um salaries for employees and everything else and be able to compete with somebody else and and now also I I mean I I again I feel bad every every time we deny one of these applications but I also feel at this point people should know that we're 62 in and it is incumbent on the owner to do their research to see where they are all of this information is available through the the Department of Commerce and I I feel like put in an unfair position because as much as I don't want to upset an applicant I don't want to upset the neighborhood either and I do feel that there's just these cannabis clusters to stop and the recent uh zoning letter basically opened up far more locations for pre-existing use so Mr Daniel appears that uh perhaps your marching orders may be twofold you may want to consider a different location and if not you certainly had a minimum need to speak to the Block Association well I would want to see neighborhood support absolutely so would I without neighborhood support I would vote no so so would I agree and I like to take three minutes sure um totally understand all the concerns there's been 62 applicants that come here 62 yeah there would be over a hundred if not for me because every week someone's like I want to be in Jersey City I want to be in Jersey City I like dud you don't want to be in Jersey City because there's going to be one on every corner I send people elsewhere I do it on a weekly basis this applicant made what may have been the mistake of getting his stuff together first because we could have been here months ago but he didn't want to come here months ago wanted to get the money situation straight right he wanted to be able to actually succeed now there's a long way away from Municipal approval State approval opening a cannabis business and making money and at the end of the day the wolves are going to eat the Sheep trust me just like you go to a CVS when you want to get a Tien all and you go to a Home Depot when you want to get a hammer same thing's going to happen in the Cannabis industry it's going to shrink now I understand what you're saying and you're you're want to make a choice on who gets to compete in this area and who doesn't I feel uncomfortable because I think he has a good chance even if there were someone next door I disagree with your comment that we're choosing one dispensary against another we're what we're here to deal with and there may have been mistakes in the past uh by everybody in involved that it was too much it was just too open what we're concerned about and you know as a realtor commercial realtor I basically look at a business district that is the lifeline of a neighborhood it produces many different kinds of services in that neighborhood you know all kinds of stores what we're happening now is what we're now looking at and facing is concentration of one type of business in certain locations and should they fail and again it's not our prerogative to say who's going to live and who's going to die but that is the economic reality and vacancies in that business district that hurts the neighborhood and I grew up in Jersey City my entire life and I lived in neighborhoods that were depressed and have hold on I'm sorry someone is distracting our stenography so what is it a voice is it a video if somebody's on the phone please step outside as I'm saying I've witnessed neighborhoods that are distressed that did not have a good business district and those neighborhoods suffered because of it so we have to take a look at this now and make sure that we're not creating that same situation within this city and has nothing to do with picking which dispensary shall open and close and succeed or fail it has to do with the entire compens composition of the neighborhood um I don't disagree with that all all I'm saying is that at the end of the day if Newark Avenue can only support economically two dispensaries they're going to end up with two dispensaries whether you give four licenses or six licenses they're going to end up with two dispensaries and what we're doing now we're going to give the first two which maybe if I'm sitting in your shoes I do the same thing I just feel bad for this young man because what he did was the right thing to do because I have other clients that I don't I agree with what je so my concern is one I Jeff and I have been doing this the longest we started out last April I think actually we started last January yes now again I have to own what the decisions that I make when I leave here and people are not happy about the number of dispensaries and I understand it's survival of the fittest but we did it the fairest way we could we hear the applications in the order in which they are received we don't let anyone bump the line we're very strict about that and that is because it it's kind of a rat race unfortunately right so some people and this is why I have I have said once you get an approval it should have a time period on it because I know some of these businesses are never going to open but my concern is I am a council a in w d anytime I'm up in the Heights now people are complaining to me that I allowed all of these on Central Avenue because that is not what the community wants and unfortunately a lot of people are not very engaged um like we are or like the people who are here are and so they're not aware that this is happening and we're making decisions based on a community that I am the one who thinks that these should have to notice the neighborhood I I feel very strongly about that because I think that there's just too many and I I feel for you that you went and did all of your work I I do know that people are investing a lot of time and a lot of money in this but I also feel that it's your job to do your due diligence and to understand where these are opening because I there's it's just too many and I I agree it's survival of the fittest I do I understand a lot of these businesses will close and I would even say we've made mistakes up here however I I think at this point I personally feel that there's too many on Newark Avenue in general you have um the one that just opened on The Pedestrian Plaza Downtown Flower which will be recreational and medicinal then you have the gem Alone um on the corner is going to be recreational the old Hard Grove is going to be recreational like on Newark AV alone I think well let here let me count how many we have 1 two 3 four five 6 7 I mean there's this would be the eighth on Newark Avenue I just think it's too money on nework Avenue in other words it's not that the board is saying this business is going to fail this one isn't they're not choosing they're saying we've got eight already we've got eight already and we heard them in the fairest way possible which was in the order in which they were received so I feel for you and I I feel bad I I feel bad every time we have to deny one of these but I also feel bad when I leave here and I I go have dinner with my friends and I get attacked because the city is not happy with and the city council's not happy with it if you sit through any Caucus meeting they say why are we doing this so to me I think it's just too many there's too many there's just you know something I think think the first thing that you should do is go meet with the hilltop yes because I feel that they're going to tell you the same thing you're hearing here tonight and I would take that and I you know look I am extremely Pro can hold on one two three and I like to see this succeed but I also see what's happening on the west coast this would be the ninth I I correct myself nine so that is a strong indicator where the business goes there's plenty of places if you really want to be in Jersey City look for a place that is not that crowded cannabis is a great business because if people like smoking pot they'll go find a place to buy it absolutely and if you're a good retailer they will go to you you know I know you don't want to hear that you put a lot of time into but I'm giving you my best advice what is the the applicant's pleasure Mr Maan I think we got to talk about it I mean maybe Jersey City's not the place for him maybe this is the last time I'm sitting here because there are plenty maybe too many um but we have to discuss we're up to number 70 by the way yeah I get I get it you know we got to discuss if there's a way he can you know so go somewhere else I would recommend adjourning it cuz if we vote now I think we're going to vote no so if you want to try to go get the neighborhood court and come back in September that's your decision I mean we're basically saying we feel bad and we don't want to vote now but we we feel like we kind of have to vote no because there's a cluster so unless you come back and sway us the other way I would say we're going if we vote now we're voting no yeah also um with your community impact I know I've uh seen that you're working with Community First correct and girls love Tech correct is there anybody here present to speak on no so that's that's something that we've been requiring from you know we've been asking all other applicants to also have somebody here to share testimony like hey I I'm going to work with this applicant and we'll do so and so so I didn't see any M us and not that they're required but I know we've been asking others to please either help them present or or have a letter from them not necessarily anou but we have had people come in front of us that we find out after the fact lied and I'm not calling anyone a liar but we we have learned as as we go that we have to have either someone here to speak or a letter present so I'll make a motion to adjourn second all in favor any see in September anyway I can make a comment go ahead I have a few comments um I understand about uh contacting the hilltop Association um with all dis respect uh Miss bunny uh the dispensaries that you did mention on norav they are in downtown I think people that uh go to Helen PE don't go to Larry and Joe's so those are they are in two different Wards um another thing I did follow 635 nework av's um meeting and uh one of the things that they didn't mention was that they did not have the funding but that by you guys 635 there isn't one at 635 there's 655 and they're multi 36 I'm 6 I mean I'm 5 5:35 I mean I'm sorry 535 I'm sorry so 535 didn't mention that by you guys proving them that it will help them to uh possibly get some more funding um in my business plan I do show that I do have the funding so let's say you guys do deny me I think it' be unfair when I am a Jersey City native I went to Dickerson High School I grew up two blocks away from there um and so what would Happ I feel like this is just you trying to to debate with us and I don't want to debate with you I feel like at the end of the day we could vote now we could have voted and voted no so we're saying we're not comfortable with the lack of community support we think there's too many on nework Avenue so instead of arguing with us now my recommendation would be to go out into the community and get the community to come here and advocate for you because otherwise I already said I would vote no if I was Voting right now I would vote no I understand that it's unfair however this we've been doing this since last year it's in the order in which they were received so maybe you did make a mistake by doing the responsible thing and getting everything in order but we have no control over that that was your personal decision and we can't you can't change what you ate for breakfast right so this is where we are now there's a lot on nework Avenue I understand what you're saying about downtown versus however I I live in w d I work in Ward e uh I walk home through Ward C so I I think Jersey City people are pretty transient and I think just in general there's too many on Newark Avenue that's just my personal opinion there's too many on Newark too many on Central too many on west side and if Jeff and I agree then it has to be true all right the matter is adjourned best of luck to you all right with the uh board's permission I'd like to call the final CCB 23- 69 cream of the pot so um I just want to note this one uh was denied by the Jersey City police department as as well so we are not going to vote on it tonight um they need additional information regarding the alarm system the video system access to visitor control specifics storage and inventory control waste disposal cash handling techniques nuisance prevention lighting staff training their emergency response plan details and transportation techniques um so question uh the police department they're sending this the day of yeah well I did just I don't get I don't haven't gotten any of these um so we got this one tonight which I did say in the prior application I asked aenda and Maria to tell the police department we needed at least a week in advance because they could possibly correct these things or we could let them know that we're not going to hear them and not make them come here so we'll hear everything but it's going to be carried because we're not going to vote Yes on an application that the Jersey City police department has said they don't feel comfortable with um no I don't disagree with that I just like a little more time no we do need more time and so we I yeah he'll uh Maria will give you a copy so we'll go through everything but we are not going to vote tonight M lean please enter your appearance into the record briefly tell us what this application is all about and who's going to be testifying absolutely commission sorry um the vice chair would like I just I I would feel more comfortable hearing everything all at once than hearing half of the application today and then further testimony when it's cleared by jcpd so I do um we we we did the opposite with I know and that's why I'm saying like some of my notes I go back and forth and like it was approved not approved and then this is this application even though it's new it's actually a continuation because it was 50 Journal Square M so it was 50 Journal Square but we never heard it yeah no no we didn't hear it I I had my notes about three times on three different dates right what's the board's pleasure um I just want to make a motion to adjourn if anybody wants to Second it that's you know and those are my reasonings so we would listen to them once they get all their documents in order let me ask you a question so the only the only thing that we're deficient on is the security plan but we don't know that we know the security plan is deficient we haven't heard the rest of their plan true too right um I'll go along with whatever the board wants we need a second if that's the case otherwise the motion dies and we continue so my opinion is that we're here and they have their attorney here who they're paying um and I I do think it's unfair that that the Jersey City police department continues to give us these last minute it's not fair to the applicant and so um I think I don't think it's yeah I think they should present because I I don't think it's fair to make people come here and spend time and money I don't know if they flew people in but we have had people fly people in and we do tell applicants they have to submit things I believe two weeks prior so for the Jersey City police department to send this to us at 519 is not the applicant's fault and so I wouldn't penalize the applicant for that and just just a dub tail on that if there's questions from the board in regards to some deficiency throughout their presentation we're going to ask them to postpone anyway later on so why don't we get it done today and just get it over with at the next meeting yeah so are you withdrawing your motion yep I'll withdraw my motion all right so again enter your appearance into the record please briefly describe what the applicant is here to do and who your Witnesses are absolutely uh for the record uh Tom lean of conell Foley here on behalf of the applicant before I even get into it I do just want to bring up we we did briefly review what we got from the the police here we actually submitted an updated plan on July 31st so we have no idea if this is in response oh to the updated plan and until we contact them we're probably not going to know that answer so I did just want to put on the record that there's the possibility that this is not even in response to the latest documents no I understand yeah okay uh all that said uh the application before you uh this evening is for a uh um class 5 retail camp cannabis uh application uh the property is 497 Communipaw as you mentioned on the record there has been some back and forth with this applicant they previously appeared here with uh a location in Journal Square uh the board is aware that there is some um back and forth between the city about possibly obtaining that property by way of eminent domain my client went out and found another property that has actually been previously reviewed by this board it's 497 Communipaw I believe this board actually approved that location for a different applicant that applicant I believe proceeded to another didn't you yes they proceeded to another location so I believe this has been reviewed this location it was treeh house Ventures it treeh house Ventures oh okay got it so yes this this this site has actually been vetted by this board before uh it is located in a neighborhood commercial Zone in the city the uh I'm sure the board is aware the uh city council is currently voting on um uh an ordinance to make that actually a permitted use instead of additional use and neighborhood commercial I believe that's before the board this week actually um so it's a good location it's been reviewed by this board before it's going to be a permitted use if the if the council passes that ordinance uh they do have their state approval uh it is a minority and woman-owned micro business uh they do have their conditional license I do have uh three uh individuals who are all members of the uh The Entity um I have um I just want to get of everybody's name plette Rose who is seated to my left uh Arthur Willam Willams seated to my right and Billy Shivers all the way at the end there uh Miss Rose is actually uh going to be the day-to-day operations and she is the CFO uh Mr um Williams and Miss Shivers are sharing responsibilities as C uh CEO uh however Miss Rose because she will be there as the day-to-day applicant I'm going to rely on her for most of my testimony this evening all right please raise your right hand the square firm the testimony about give the truth the old truth and nothing but the truth to help you God put your hand down please state your name spell your last last name give us your address my name is pette Rose my name is pet Rose uh I reside at 41 Carterette Street in Bloomfield New Jersey 07003 thank you for that your witness Mr lean all right Miss Rose if you wouldn't mind giving the board the the benefit of your uh your background your history here in Jersey City I'd also ask you to go through the community benefits and all the actions you've taken you've provided this board with several M us and also some um signatures from responses from the community that you've personally gone around and met with a lot of the community if you could just go over that describe the benefits that you'll be providing and then we'll move on to the next topic okay perfect so first I'd like to say thank you for this opportunity it's been a long time coming um my name is pet Rose as I said I'm very proud to sit before you as one of the owners of cream of the pot I was born and raised in Jersey City on London Avenue my family has owned independent bu Supply which is the longest standing blackowned Hair Care retailer Distribution Company in Jersey City my father Franklin RH is one of the founding Brothers of IBS company which again I'm very proud because entrepreneurship literally runs through my blood for over 40 years IBS helped shape the Jersey City Community by employing minorities and by teaching them that building businesses uh growing up in this is where I learned firsthand about my social impact and the importance of giving back to my community um presently now um after working for IBS independent view Supply I was drawn to the corporate world for nearly two Deca two decades I have grown within my present place of employment locaton aant um my experience spans from customer service rep to manager and overseeing about 25 to 30 employees and now I currently oversee the supply chain US and Canada business to business and wholesale divisions I've helped develop countless policies procedures and help the business run effectively and efficiently I continue to raise the bar to organize five star hotels to streamline their commitments on becoming fully committed to using sustainable packaging um I mention all of this because it brings a skill set uh forth for the creation of cream in a pot so my cannabis Journey um growing up for growing up marijuana was Associated as a funny smelling cigarette that some of my family members would actually smoke it was seen as a drug that my peers would get kicked out of school or even arrested for a drug that I occasionally sneak and use however my perspective on cannabis changed when my nephew was diagnosed with a condition called hydren Tivia uh that so-called bad drug became an answer to my prayers Western me Western medicine wasn't providing him the relief he needs but cannabis did witnessing the significant Improvement in his quality of life I embarked on my own personal Journey during my journey I discovered that everyone's interaction with cannabis is different and unique many are now turning to cannabis as a holistic approach to Wellness so now I would like to fast forward it to our team uh the cream of the pot team Billy and I have known each other for over 20 years being friends with a registered nurse and an entrepreneur came with some perks I would often seek advice about my NE my nephew's Health journey and what bounce ideas about the wellness effects of cannabis plant versus the Western medicines when the opportunity arose I gladly accepted to take on this journey with and this Mission with Billy and Arthur a family friend for over 40 years we're passionate about Jersey city and willing to change the way people perceive the Cannabis industry and we want to be a part of this journey and make a difference in this town that gave us so much um I'm just going to get into like our location so creuna pop will be located at 497 cun par the heart of Jersey heart of Jersey City The Junction w f our retail space is 92 Square ft and we will have a sleek yet modern design which we submitted our architectural designs our space will promote Wellness within the Cannabis industry and it involves educating our customers curating a soothing environment sharing success stories and forcing a sense of community our team spoke to local businesses and members of the community which I submitted all of that um to you as well we found everyone was very accepting of the idea of a dispensary in the neighborhood but we wanted to hear what their concerns were one mainc concern was the presence of smoke shops selling illegal weed on June 30th our team met with Lincoln High School's principal and this was also his concern the team followed up with a letter proposing actions what we can take our part on um one we would host workshops for any parent or Guardian looking to educate themselves on cannabis and how to have those conversations about cannabis with their with their children proposed to modify our hours to to follow a school calendar schedule um and with members of our to launch awareness campaigns and provide literature to teach the youth that effects on early cannabis use the creem the pot team has revamped our entire sop and security procedures to provide more than a 50-page outline um and we've actually hired radiant professional solutions to spearhead this project our own Hector corado is actually here now and he'll oversee our security efforts um which was previously permitted to the board um so now I'll just go to our community impact sorry we plan to fully integrate ourselves within the community and here are several programs designed to positively affect our community so one we have kotp cares this is our Outreach platform five members from our community put the quality Equity into the hands of our community members members from our to help kotp create a rewarding initiatives for our community um our community I'm sorry kotp 1 is our community development plan which we're going to hire um 75% of suppliers that Source locally and 80% of our staff will be hired from w f of 07304 and 305 and you're a micro business so the maximum is 10 right so we're going to start off with eight and then once we're fully integrated then we're going to go to 10 what kind of hourly rate will you pay them um from $15 to $20.85 thank youim um and then three I'm sorry I we're discussing what the minimum wage is I know in the state I think it's 15 but uh 15 I think in Jersey City it's might be 20 I'm looking it up or maybe that's for city employees for yeah oh okay he's G yeah I don't think the city could impose you know the state has preempted that yeah no it's for Jersey city workers okay all right can I continue yes please three our local community engagement manager so this person will actually um be involved and work actually in cream of the pot and they're going to basically oversee that anything that we present will their plans are going to be presented and executed um and then we're going to have a community Advisory Board and this is four people and this is two people from cream of the pot and two people from the local community um and this is for us to actually work together so this the community Advisory Board will actually help us clean up the parks give us information if we need to um assess the local churches any Outreach um info on expungement plans we don't have an expungement plan but this community this Advisory Board will basically help us give the information um we have signed multiple I'm going to let Arthur dive deeper into that once he's ready um and each of us have our passion projects I remember Britney bunny said that one time a passion project and I was like oh I like that if I said that so my passion project is with cuts for kids and we actually started a back to school drive with cuts for kids Natasha Brown was she's here to speak um where we''re raising money for kids to get either haircuts or hairstyles um before school so we're going to start on September 2nd and it's going to be every Saturday until December another one of my passion projects that I have is essential bag giveaway where instead of giving a backpack and no shade on anyone that's giving backpacks but anyone that's going to get uh I'm sorry a a toe bag they're going to get a toe bag with essential products so like hygiene products um underwear deodorant so instead of giving a kid paper and pens they can't really concentrate on stuff like that if they don't have the essentials so we feel as though that's something that Jersey City kids need the essentials so those are my two passion projects I'm now going to send it over to author so he can talk about our M us okay all right raise your right hand you square for the testimony about to give you the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you God so help me God yes you can put your hand down please state your name spell your last name give us your address Arthur Williams w l l i a Ms 74 broadman Parkway Jersey City New Jersey you're witness Mr Le yes U Mr Williams we've submitted I believe it's seven totalus to the board if you wouldn't mind just giving a brief overview of some of those us and the the benefits that uh the dispensary plans to provide through uh those programs okay one is that she is as a mentoring program for young ladies where there's four adults that work with them for about 10 years they've been in business uh the we have collaborated with them under various activities the most recent was the father and daughter uh dinner that they had at a local office down at Newport so they reach out to various communities as well as working with uh kma theart helping them financially donating to their causes secondly um the Jersey City Housing Authority we've had a community meeting to discuss some of the issues in public housing I'm a former resident of the Duncan project so um and also 20 years I served as a commissioner on the Jersey City Housing Authority board so working with the various communities in of public housing to in their winter spring summer and fall which winter Thanksgiving getting turkeys and Christmas toys for those communities in the fall some of USS rides supporting them financially to get to the various Parks uh hery park for instance also um and fall the tricker trick-or trunk uh to help them with uh giving out Halloween candies and goodies to those Stu children in the community as well as the senior citizens to give them also goodie bags and then the other uh well one and that's near and dear to me is the kidney foundation a kidney foundation that was found by me and my wife I'm a I was donated a kidney by my wife so we decided to open up a kidney foundation to bring awareness to our BR black and brown communities where to Advocate because what happens is that they're on dialysis but no one's advocating and just this past weekend I ran into uh so kidney uh gentleman has having kidney uh disease has a kidney disease who's on dialysis uh about a year ago I told him about the hackin sack Hospital go there sign up and you'll get it like within months I ran into over the weekend he said you know I waited I just went to hackin sack I just have to do two things to clear to uh be a donor I mean I'm sorry to receive a kidy to be a recipient of a kidney so I am very proud of that and also we assist another gentleman who had the kidney however he had a colonoscopy and he was took it off the list to go back to the bottom so those are some of the things things that we do and also the we pette spoke about the kids with cuts but working with them as well because what happens is that when um the kids Grom them to get back into school as well as holidays because there's so many different hairstyles that our children are going around with the BART sipson the uh I'm hoping the ponytail comes back well it's coming back it's coming back those are just to name a few so and also um we have also plot plot is a community based organization that helps many different programs working with the seniors working with the youth uh we're going to open up a week starting on Saturdays and this fall to uh teach the kids the history the black history programs where as everybody's aware Florida's taking it off but we can't deny our kids of their history and the legacies that blacks as well as brown folks have contribute to our country in fact we we had a dispensary where a section of the dispensary was just um designated for black and brown authors period books mhm yes I'm sorry go ahead so and that's where we are so hopefully you guys will uh consider us I'm going backwards forgive me uh any questions from the board members for Mr Williams and I I skipped over Miss pette questions from the board members folks in the audience for either miss plet or Mr Williams hearing none seeing none next witness I wait no we're not public comment yet if you just want to speak in support that's not yet well it's not public comment if you have questions specific questions as to the testimony that Mr Williams and M plette okay thank you uh I I do have uh Mr Hector Cado who is our security expert but given that we we going to yeah it might be better to save that for the next he yeah once jcpd signs off yeah yeah so so considering that I have no other their testimony unless there is anything else that Mr Williams or M Rose would like to add as far as hours of operation 10 to 10 Monday through 10 to 10 Monday through Sunday Sunday sorry Sunday Che us and also in speaking with uh the principal L high school I'm sorry speaking with the principal of Ling high school we will close down lunchtime and at dismissal oh very good oh yeah that's a gooda what a nice idea so that the students are not get coming in going are trying to come in so we will be closed during the school year school year except Easter break where they're hopefully down the shore um okay so micro business we know that um you talked about your wages what else do we have uh security we're going to wait until next time they pretty much listened to all the testimony previous and did their homework and actually actually came up with exactly what we want in community involvement yeah we're not done oh you're not done I we're not done with Community involvement no well have you want to keep going I mean I it seems that you won them over so we actually did um Marie actually did some Community involvement and she donated to a bunch of shelters and I think it was all the shelters would you raise your right hand to square affirm the testimony about to give you the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you God I do please state your name spell your last name and give us your address Billy Shivers s h i v RS 91 Mountain Avenue North planfield New Jersey 07060 and forgive me I have this form that I need to fill out what race or ethnic group do you belong to um black okay thank you you're welcome you got to think about that um what did you want to tell the board Miss Shivers well um I practically um visit you know you know most of the um shelters in in Jersey City um I donated you know food items I met with um let me get my notes hold on I met with the um with with Hope House the director was Lori Cherry I also met with the administrator assistant of um St Joseph home her name was Nicole long I also visited St Lucy's shelter the director was Claudia Marx but she was not there at that time so I you know spoke to other you know people that work there and they also indicated that they was moving across the street and it was going to be three shelters into one and you know I plan to donate to the homeless shelter on a continuous basis to build you know my community ties and to encourage more compassionate and community and and supportive community all right any questions from board members for Miss Shivers hearing none seing none members of the public hearing so I see I see Miss Shirley I I I imagine that all of you are here to speak in support but I bet you guys don't want to stay here that much longer either so maybe if everyone wants to stand together and we just have one comment instead of cuz it looks like 15 or 20 comments that's an hour so um we're about the community more yeah no I good application well we lost our we lost our attorney so uh one okay well we lost the attorney we're going to adjourn it anyway because we're not going to vote oh right that's right yeah Jeff was ready he was ready to make a motion I I could it excellent application I mean you know there's no question about it yeah I know and unfortunately it's be one more but next time if jcpd signs off we're going to just we'll vote so yeah can I ask a question though before we um so if once we come back do we have to go over that application again because Miss is not here no no no she can't vote okay she just can't unless she watches the YouTube video which I can't imagine why anyone would do that but I have mple times I my sincerest apologies all right so we're opening it up for public comment and the chair the chair has suggested that instead of everybody coming up saying we love this applicant that you designate one person and the rest of you can stand behind him or her if you'd like surely looks like she's ready to go who's ready to rock and roll oh come on up to the microphone anybody wants to stand behind her for moral support yeah if you guys want to stand behind to show you're all here in solidarity then that's looks good on the video Yeah and Miss Shirley will um you've got your anchor all right please raise your right hand the square firm the testimony about the give the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you God I do all right you can put your hand down please state your name spell your last name and give us your address my name is Shirley Rogers Fields F like and Frank i e l DS I live 376 Bergen Avenue Jersey City 07304 all right Miss Fields what would you like to tell the board on behalf of yourself and those folks behind you I think it's time for you to release these people I've been here three or four times already and they deserve this they really really deserve it okay I can speak a lot but I'm going to give everybody a chance but they deserve it I'm G say that how you doing Melinda Britney Britney but yes of course Miss Shirley your name but it's a worthy cause and it is good for our community for our black and brown people they will definitely help us and help our youth which is needed if you come around in this area you're work in this area so you know what I'm talking about we need help and our youth need help and we appreciate if yall do your job and let them out of here all right we don't need to hear from anybody else we get the gist of it and yes and we very much appreciate else on and off like that um I don't think you have to worry about yeah I think I think they're good they just have to come back with the security to plan okay thank thank you you approve yes you can so then I'm going to change it I'm going to make a motion to approve on the condition that Jersey City police department signs off and then you don't have to come back I I second that thank you cheer lady you're welcome Britney thank you Commissioners all right so wait we have to vote we have to vote it's not official I Jose and Sonia could still say no I don't yes well chairperson bunny uh I vote Yes to approve the application all right VI Vice chairperson KERO hi all right uh commissioner Kitz excellent presentation excellent application and you're going to be a real asset to the community and author I've known you for years you've you've done good work thank you so I vote Yes commissioner uh Marte Dublin I want to make a comment as well so I'm born and bred here raised in downtown Jersey City and I raised my two young brown and black children here in this area and I appreciate all the work that you've put forward to bring in all these great positive things to the community and especially what you're going to do with the essential bags is close and dear to my heart and with that I vote Yes motion carries congratulations have to come sure you square away the security issue abely yeah just make sure you submit it and then believe Maria is the best she's Mar and Enda are the best let's clap for them and then I make a motion to adjourn I need a second than motion to adjourn no no no while we're on a roll here if we could memorialize the resolution that you just passed cream of the pot at 497 communa Avenue I need a motion followed by a second all right uh all in favor I any opposed no okay that resolution that memorialization car thank you so much guys I'll fill in the blanks and try to carry on the now a motion to adjourn motion to adjourn second all in favor I any opposed motion carries good evening thank you guys congratulations have a good night going to make a great elected official someday and that was huge that was huge everybody would have voted for you three times