Proposed Dispensary With Drive-Thru Set For Hearing In Gloucester Twp.

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — A proposed cannabis dispensary with a drive-thru is scheduled for a hearing at Tuesday's Gloucester Township Planning Board meeting.

The prospective business would go on 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.

A hearing on the application was originally scheduled for Jan. 9. But the Planning Board meeting was canceled because of heavy rain and flooding that prompted Gov. Phil Murphy to declare a state of emergency.

Unity Road owns the 2.41-acre property 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.

Unity Road's property is in the township's Highway Commercial Zoning District, where dispensaries can conduct business with proper approvals. The Township Council gave Unity Road a tentative nod in March 2022, and the business received a state cannabis license last August.

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.).

Since the state legalized the adult use of recreational cannabis in early 2021, dispensaries have become more common throughout New Jersey. The state went from 12 dispensaries, which served medical patients, to 102 businesses offering medicinal and/or recreational weed in that span.

Camden County has 12 dispensaries — New Jersey's highest total — according to the state cannabis commission.

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