Proposed Marijuana Dispensary Property Put Up For Sale In Brick

BRICK, NJ — The property once proposed as the site for a medical marijuana dispensary has been put up for sale, but the lawsuit filed against Brick Township by the group that sought to open the dispensary is moving forward.

The 6.7-acre parcel at 385 Adamston Road has been listed for sale with Lakis Commercial Realty in Brick with an asking price of $799,000, according to Loopnet.com. The property listing, posted on Monday, notes the parcel is in a rural residential zone and had received a use variance for a retail bank in 1976.

The parcel owned by 385 Adamston LLC, which it purchased in January 2018 for $450,000, has been the center of a nearly yearlong battle over the company's proposal to turn the site into a medical marijuana dispensary.

The proposal, first announced publicly last October, has been the subject of contentious Board of Adjustment meetings and even more contentious debates on social media as the opposition to the proposal and the statewide debate about legalizing the recreational use of marijuana by adults overlapped.

Over the last year, the proposal shifted from a medical marijuana dispensary to a medical marijuana farm, and later to a hemp farm and then to a proposal to grow lettuce hydroponically inside a grow house. The lettuce proposal came just days before a special zoning board hearing requested by the Brick Township Planning Board, which sought an interpretation of permissible farming under the township's zoning laws. The zoning board ruled growing lettuce in a building was not considered a customary and conventional farming operation.

The end result was a lawsuit filed in August by 385 Adamston, insisting the application was entitled to an automatic approval on technical grounds.

A late-afternoon email to Dennis Galvin, the attorney for 385 Adamston LLC, asking about the status of the lawsuit was not immediately answered. Anne Davis, one of the principals in 385 Adamston, confirmed Monday night that the lawsuit is moving forward.

"I just filed a response today," said Brick Township's attorney, Kevin Starkey. He was not aware the property had been listed for sale. Online court records show a response also was filed by Ronald Cucchiaro on behalf of the township's Board of Adjustment.

One of the demands of the lawsuit was for the court to grant the automatic approval of the proposal to farm at the site. It also seeks an unspecified amount of money on the basis of the township not permitting 385 Adamston LLC from using the property "in accordance with the applicable zoning ordinances and (the township and its boards) have done everything in their power to ensure that Plaintiff's property will remain open space," the lawsuit states.

It is not clear how the automatic approval request will be affected if the property is sold before the court case is resolved.

Starkey, at the Aug. 27 Township Council meeting, called the lawsuit "absurd" and said the township would vigorously fight it.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Brick Company Hopes To Open Medical Marijuana Dispensary In Town
• Tension Marks Meeting On Proposed Brick Medical Marijuana Site
• Medical Marijuana Dispensary Proposal Before Brick Zoners
• Brick Zoners Continue Medical Marijuana Dispensary Hearing
• State Delays New Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Decision
• Medical Marijuana Dispensary Proposal Before Brick Zoners Again
• Medical Marijuana Dispensary Proposal In Brick Postponed
• Brick Firm's Medical Marijuana Permit Bid Fails
• Canceled Dispensary Hearing Draws Brick Zoning Board Chair's Ire
• Medical Marijuana Dispensary Shelved In Brick
• Brick Zoning Interpretation Sought On Marijuana Farm
• Brick Councilwoman Rips Activists Over Marijuana Song
• Adamston Farm Owners Claim 'Default Approval' In Brick
• Brick Planners' Attorney Rebukes Lettuce Farm's Approval Claim
• Owners Of Proposed Marijuana Farm Site Sue Brick Zoning Board
• Brick 'Vigorously' Fighting Suit On Marijuana Farm Plan: Attorney

This article has been updated with comment from Anne Davis regarding the status of the lawsuit.

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