A decision was made on what is considered a school.
School’s out, at least as far as the Frelinghuysen Land Use Board is concerned, as it voted to reject calls for a Sunday school program near a proposed cannabis production facility to be considered a traditional educational program.
Had the land use board decided that the Sunday school fit the definition of a school, the future of the proposed cannabis farm on Route 94 on the border of Fredon could have been decided right then as the township ordinance passed last year to regulate cannabis production requires any facility not be within 1,000 feet of a school.
The board’s decision at its Sept. 9 meeting means hearings over the plan will continue.
Hearings to Continue for Cannabis Farm
One Faith Wellness, which is proposing an indoor cannabis cultivation farm on a portion of a 30-acre parcel along the north end of Route 94, purchased the property from the township at a public auction two years ago.
When the plans for the cannabis farm were made public, concerns had been aired about the proximity to the site of Frelinghuysen Elementary School — the structures of the cannabis farm and the school building are separated by more than 2,000 feet, which would likely be a permissible distance.
But Roger Thomas, an attorney representing Concerned Citizens of Frelinghuysen NJ, opponents of the facility, brought up the Sunday school at the Yellow Frame Presbyterian Church, just to the north and across the street from cannabis site.
Thomas asserted that the Sunday school meets the definition of a school for the purposes of the One Faith Wellness application.
“A school is a school is a school,” Thomas said.
Not in this case, the land use board ruled.
Testimony is expected to continue before the board at its Oct. 7 meeting, to be held at the recreation center on Lincoln Laurel Road at 7 p.m.
Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
