Cannabis Dispensary With Drive-Thru Proposed For Gloucester Township

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — A cannabis retailer with a drive-thru could open in Gloucester Township.

The prospective dispensary owner wants to place the business at 2751 Sicklerville Rd., which is currently vacant. Unity Rd NJ LLC, also known as Unity Road, has proposed a 4,290-square foot dispensary with a drive-thru and about 35 parking spaces.

The Gloucester Township Planning Board is set to hear the application at Tuesday's meeting.

Unity Road's property is in the township's Highway Commercial Zoning District. In March 2022, the Township Council confirmed that Unity Road would operate in a district where cannabis retailers can conduct business with proper approvals. The council resolution supported Unity Road's application for a state cannabis license, which the business received last August.

The property is located by the intersection of Sicklerville and Hickstown Roads. Nearby businesses include Wawa, the Caliber Collision auto-repair shop, and the Country Farm convenience and smoke store.

The proposed drive-thru would accommodate up to 11 vehicles. Only customers with appointments for pickups would be able to use it, per township regulations.

Because of the wetlands along the property's rear, Unity Road is seeking variances to reduce the maximum buffer allowed between the roadway and the site's building and parking lot. Under the proposal, the parking area would begin 15 feet from the roadway — the area is currently zoned for a minimum distance of 25 feet.

Unity Road's building would also have canopies that stretch slightly closer to the property lines than current regulations allow — a front canopy that protrudes 64.7 feet from the roadway instead of 75 feet, and one on the side that's 9.1 feet from the northwest property line instead of 10 feet.

No other part of the building would encroach on those buffer zones. The development, as proposed, wouldn't create any traffic problems, according to a site-plan review from the Gloucester Township Police Department's Traffic Safety Unit.

Gloucester Township currently has two dispensaries: MPX NJ (581 Berlin-Cross Keys Rd.) and Honey Grove (1337 Blackwood Clementon Rd.).

The Planning Board meeting begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday. View the meeting agenda.