South Orange Wants Liquor Licenses, Retail Marijuana: Polls

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — How do South Orange residents feel about legal marijuana businesses and giving out more local liquor licenses? Bring on the pot and booze, according to a pair of unscientific social media surveys.

Both suggestions got enthusiastic approval from those who took South Orange Village President Sheena Collum’s recent Facebook surveys. Here’s what Collum asked prior to each survey.

Don’t forget to visit the Patch South Orange Facebook page here.

LEGAL MARIJUANA BUSINESSES?

Out of 521 votes, here’s what people thought about the idea of allowing “recreational marijuana” as a permitted retail space in South Orange:

• YES – 83 %
• NO – 17 %

On Aug. 2, Collum wrote:

“Neighbors - I have another poll for you and it's controversial. Worth repeating, I understand this is social media, the sample population represents a snapshot of people who participate on Facebook and are in some capacity connected to me either directly or indirectly through mutual connections. It's a quick way for me to gauge a segment of "preferences" and also allows me to absorb comments. I will also add to the disclaimer that the overwhelming number Facebook connections I have are not my "besties" - we're not having slumber parties and braiding hair. Most of my connections are simply community members who may/may not always agree with me, and that's totally cool and welcomed.

“With that said, I have another "poll" (which on FB only allows two options with limited characters so if you have a different or hybrid opinion, you can post it).

“The legalization of "recreational marijuana" continues to be a hotly debated issue in Trenton. Municipalities are getting lots of interest from distributers who are looking for places to go "if" this becomes legal. South Orange is one - we're getting lots of interest.

“At the local level, we will have many options and controls 1) where it can be located (distance from schools, etc.) 2) hours of operation 3) design guidelines for an establishment and 4) likely many other local provisions and required state controls.

“So my question is more "philosophical" in nature (judgement free zone).

“IF (worth repeating "IF") criteria can be agreed upon and we have all the necessary state and local controls in place, would you support South Orange making recreational marijuana a "permitted use" of retail space or would you prohibit the sale of recreational marijuana in our community entirely?”

• See related article: Should South Orange Allow A Retail Marijuana Store?
• See related article: Legal Marijuana Could Bring New Jersey $1B In 1st Year, Law Firm Says

MORE LIQUOR LICENSES?

From 469 total votes, here’s how the idea of allowing more local liquor licenses in South Orange played out:

• YES – 89 %
• NO – 11 %

Collum wrote on July 25:

“I just finished an interview on a bill making its way through the legislature that would expand opportunities for restaurants to obtain a liquor license. As a reminder, South Orange has 8 plenary retail consumption licenses (by state law). The last one sold for a little over $500,000. Highlights of the new bill include the following:

1) Two new types of licenses will be created: (R1) you can sell beer, wine, and spirits and (R2) you can sell only beer and wine by the bottle or can. These can be unlimited, assuming requirements are met.

2) These licenses would only be available for use in connection with restaurants that occupy a square footage of between 1,500 and 6,000 and maintain a full-service kitchen. There can be no “bar”, it’s table service only.

3) The fee schedule depends on type and size of establishment but starts at $1500 and maxes out at $10,000 - this is the initial and annual fee.

4) Tax credits will be provided to existing consumption licensees for “the qualified loss in value” resulting from the creation of the new restaurant licenses.

“More information can be found in the following link (you can scroll to the end to read a executive summary rather than pose individual questions to me) http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2...

“I'm interested in your position and why. Facebook only allows two options to be posted so feel free to comment if you have additional thoughts and no, this is not statistically significant - this is social media, it's one indicator of preferences.”

Don’t forget to visit the Patch South Orange Facebook page here.

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File Photo: Shutterstock (not taken in South Orange)