Cannabis Decision Upheld, Following Appeal To Morristown Council

MORRISTOWN, NJ — The Morristown City Council upheld its previous decision to grant a cannabis dispensary license to a Massachusetts company on Tuesday.

Several residents questioned the decision to grant Uma Flowers, a dispensary in Pepperell, Massachusetts, one license despite the fact that the original ordinance allowed for a maximum of two cannabis licenses.

Jillian Barrick, the Town Administrator, previously informed the public that all six initial applicants were recreational marijuana businesses, which is why they only licensed one, rather than the two initially approved by the zoning ordinance.

During public speaking, Joe Savino, a Morristown resident, appealed to the council about the council's decision to deny The Summit a cannabis license in Morristown.

“It’s not too late to consider that if a second license is issued down the road, another RFP could go along with that, it’s a time-consuming process, and it feels like pouring salt in the wound,” Savino said.

The Summit was one of the six applicants to apply for the Morristown retail license.

Town Attorney David Minchello stated that the town was under no obligation to grant two recreational licenses, as some applicants claimed, or to grant any licenses at all.

"This council was never under any obligation to award two licenses, nor was it ever contemplated that this council would award two retail cannabis licenses," Minchello said.

Minchello also denied that The Summit was tied with Uma Flowers in rankings by the five-member Cannabis Advisory Board, which vetted all six applicants. "There was not a tie. The scores were certainly close, however, ultimately the Cannabis Advisory Board, all scored individually and then met and made a recommendation to council," Minchello said.

Each applicant was scored as follows:

1. Uma Flowers NJ, LLC, 362
2. Tangerine Tree Dispensary, LLC, 340
3. ALTA AMFI, 296
4. The Summit, 276
5. The Banc Street Collective, 251
6. Sweet Spot Garden State, 213

The resolutions affirming the denial of the five applicants were approved by Council President Stefan Armington, Vice President Sandi Mayer, and Councilmen Nathan Umbriac and Robert Iannaccone on Tuesday.

If the council wanted to license a second retail cannabis vendor, it would need to create a new request for proposal (RFP) in collaboration with the Cannabis Advisory Board, which would then be voted on by the council, according to Minchello.

Uma Flowers was founded in December by sisters-in-law Priyanka and Tejal Patel. Both sisters worked in the health sector for five years prior to opening their own recreational cannabis shop.

According to the council, the opening of Uma Flowers is still pending state approval, so there is no set opening date for the new business.