Hoboken Council To Vote On Cannabis Zoning, Reorganize Tonight

HOBOKEN, NJ —The Hoboken City Council is starting 2020 off with a packed agenda for its Thursday, Jan. 2 meeting.

On Thursday night, the council will include a ceremonial swearing in of newly elected member Phil Cohen, who replaces outgoing Councilman Peter Cunningham. The council will also choose a president and vice president from among its nine members, and appoint members to several bodies including the Zoning Board of Adjustments.

In an election in November 2019, Cohen was elected to represent the 5th Ward, the northwestern section of town. In all five of the other wards, the incumbents were voted into their second terms. The council members were officially sworn in to their new terms on Jan. 1.

Also on the agenda for the meeting, the council will vote on introducing an ordinance to make medical cannabis dispensaries a conditional use for the C-1 zoning district in Hoboken, which is the area near the Hoboken Train Terminal and Main Post Office. Each commercial district in town has permitted uses, which may be approved at the discretion of the zoning officer. They also have conditional uses, which require a public hearing before the Planning Board. Finally, uses that are not in the Use Table would require a hearing to obtain a use variance before the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

According to the ordinance, conditional uses, “because of inherent characteristics and potential impact on the surrounding area, shall be subject to a public hearing before the Planning Board. Conditional uses must, at minimum, satisfy the ‘General Guidelines and Standards for Specific Uses’ ‘and shall comply with any additional conditions of approval imposed by the Planning Board, at its discretion, to protect the health, safety and general welfare of residents, visitors, the surrounding area and the City of Hoboken."

In August, a company that runs a dispensary in Secaucus filed an application to the Planning Board to bring a location to 95 Hudson St., which is in the C-1 district.

Also on Thursday, the council will also vote on a resolution to award a contract to demolish an “unsafe structure” at 609-615 First St., in the southwesternmost corner of town. Councilman Ruben Ramos Jr. called the building an "eyesore" in August.

The structure has an interesting place in history. The building was once Casella's restaurant, known as a mob meeting spot, where Genovese crime family members were said to have discussed murdering Gambino crime family boss John Gotti. In fact, the restaurant's owner was convicted in 1989 of a related murder charge, according to the New York Times.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at City Hall at First and Washington streets, and is open to the public.

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