Brick 'Vigorously' Fighting Suit On Marijuana Farm Plan: Attorney

BRICK, NJ — Brick Township is not backing down from a lawsuit filed by the owners of an Adamston Road property that was the latest move the fight over the controversial plans for the site, the township's attorney.

At Tuesday's Township Council meeting, residents in the immediate proximity of the former bank site at 385 Adamston Road who have been opposing the proposal asked for the township's stance on the lawsuit that was filed Aug. 8.

"We want to know that the town is on the same page," said Bill Truex as he asked about the lawsuit. Residents fighting the project have been vocal in their opposition, packing hearings and following every turn closely.

Township Attorney Kevin Starkey said the township, along with its planning and zoning board attorneys, are in agreement that the lawsuit by 385 Adamston LLC is just an attempt circumvent the zoning board process.

"I think it's close to absurd," Starkey said of the claim by Dennis Galvin, attorney for 385 Adamston LLC, that the project was entitled to an automatic approval based on Galvin's opinion that the Planning Board failed to act on the application. Starkey said the town is fighting that assertion based on the fact that the Planning Board sent the application to the Board of Adjustment for an interpretation at a meeting that was properly announced under the state's Open Public Meetings Act and that Galvin participated in.

"They got what any applicant is entitled to," Starkey said. "Their lawsuit is sort of a backdoor way to say we don't need to go before any board we don't need any approval we can just come in and do it."

"We are going to vigorously fight this," Starkey said.

The application began in August 2018 as a proposal for a medical marijuana dispensary, which was heatedly contested. In March 2019, the proposal was amended in March 2019, replaced with a plan to grow medical marijuana on the nearly 7-acre property on Adamston Road that had operated as a bank for decades. The plan to grow medical marijuana in a grow house was then amended to growing hemp, based on changes to the laws at the federal level. Finally, in May, the owners amended their plan again to grow lettuce hydroponically.

The property sits in a rural residential zone, which permits farming, and is across the street from a residential neighborhood.

Truex, however, questioned whether farming in the zone encompasses a farm that sells its produce, since the RR1 zone definition does not specifically grant permission for commercial or industrial activities with a farm.

"I believe it's so a resident can have farm animals on their property," Truex said.

Mike Dumas asked whether the council could take action to expand its ban on recreational marijuana cultivation, sales, manufacturing to include medical marijuana as well. Starkey said anything the township does will not apply to the 385 Adamston LLC application because that application is governed by the zoning laws that existed when the application was filed in August 2018.

Dumas said he believes the council should take action to prevent the town from becoming embroiled in similar disputes with other properties.

Marcel Diaz, who also lives nearby, urged the council to make changes to the permitted uses in the RR1 zone to permanently prevent it from being considered for marijuana cultivation. Councilman Paul Mummolo said the township's Land Use committee has hired a firm to look at the issue and provide them with guidance on the best way to proceed. He could not give a timeline on when the town might act.

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