No New Cannabis Businesses Will Be Approved In Moorestown For Time Being

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Moorestown officials will not approve any applications for cannabis businesses until at least 2026.

Four cannabis entities — three retailers and one cultivator — have received the Township Council’s endorsement to set up shop in the township. However, none have opened yet.

So until the township can judge the impacts of some of the approved businesses, it will hold off on approving any other cannabis applications.

“We are listening to resident feedback that we want to wait and see how the first few play out in the township before we make decisions to grant more or not grant more,” Council Member Christopher Keating said at Monday’s council meeting. “So we appreciate the public’s feedback on that issue.”

Moorestown allows a limited number of approved cannabis businesses to operate within certain sections of the township. To be approved, a prospective cannabis establishment must receive a vote of support from the council.

For at least a year, the council has decided to hold off on approving any new applications. On Monday, the council passed a resolution confirming the moratorium will be in place through the calendar year.

The council will revisit the policy in December.

It comes as the township faces a continued push from a cannabis entity that has been seeking the council’s approval.

Planet OZ, LLC applied for a resolution to obtain the council’s support in June 2023. But because of public concerns about the impact of cannabis businesses in Moorestown, the council has held off on making a decision.

The company reached an agreement with a property owner on Route 38, within one of Moorestown’s “green zones” — areas where cannabis businesses can operate — according to owner Eric Peebles, a Paulsboro resident who grew up in Pennsauken.

Local officials have told Planet OZ that they’re free to look for opportunities to open the business in other townships. But the business still has its sights set on Moorestown.

“We wanted to do business in Moorestown,” Peebles told Patch. “Moorestown was our target township to do business. And that’s based off the real estate aspect of green zones and also the actual township. We enjoy the township, and the business will do great in Moorestown Township.”

Last year, a Planet OZ representative asked the council for an update at two different meetings. On both occasions, the governing body stated it’s not looking to approve any new cannabis applications for the time being, according to township documents.

An attorney for Planet OZ wrote to the township last month, seeking to compel the municipality to act on their application, the recent resolution says.

The new resolution says that the township has not denied Planet OZ’s application.

“Planet OZ will continue to be the next applicant in line, and the Township will review and take action on their application when the temporary moratorium is lifted,” the resolution says.

The township expects at least one of the approved businesses to open this calendar year.