Hoboken council paves the way for medical marijuana dispensaries, opposes NJ Transit power plant

The Hoboken City Council unanimously passed a sweeping medical marijuana ordinance Wednesday, opening the door for two dispensaries near the PATH Station.

It also passed the county’s first resolution opposing NJ Transit’s proposed power plant in Kearny.

The marijuana ordinance expands and amends previous legislation to establish a Medical Cannabis Review Board and a 2% medical marijuana city tax. It also eliminates a previous rule preventing more than one dispensary per city zone.

That means multiple companies that have shown interest in opening dispensaries near the PATH station could potentially end up there, council members said. However, there can only be three dispensaries total in the city, according to the ordinance.

“I think that we have the need for this,” Councilman Phil Cohen said during the virtual council meeting. “Demand is there. We should go forward with this. We’re going to have the review board to be able to regulate it, the planning board is going to be able to regulate it.”

The legislation includes detailed requirements for security, window displays and other nuances.

It passed 8-0. Council President Jen Giattino absent.

A resolution opposing the creation of an NJ Transit power plant in Kearny also passed unanimously, with the support of multiple environmental organizations and many public speakers. Hoboken is now the first municipality to formally oppose the project, according to Food and Water Watch.

The power plant passed environmental review in April, heading toward a 2021 groundbreaking. It would help power Amtrak, commuter rail lines and the Hudson-Bergen light rail in the event of a power outage, according to NJ Transit officials.

But the project would just create more air pollution and further endanger Hudson County residents, particularly those in low-income communities, Hoboken’s resolution says.

“We cannot hope to protect ourselves and our children from climate change if we insist on continuing to dig ourselves deeper and deeper into the hole that we are already in,” said Michael Watson, the president of Hoboken’s Climate Mobilization chapter and a member of the Hoboken Democratic Committee.

Separately, Council Vice President Vanessa Falco called on Mayor Ravi Bhalla to start prioritizing affordable housing in the wake of the Black Live Matter protests.

“I’ve sat in your conference room on several occasions with proposals for equitable development and we are two and a half years in with nothing new,” she said. “(Former Mayor) Dawn (Zimmer) did nothing as it pertains to affordable housing in Hoboken and I’m asking you to lead from a different lens.”

Falcon added that Hoboken needs to be better at hiring black employees in its schools, police department and fire department.

Her election as the city’s first African American councilwoman was just a first step toward progress, she added.

“There’s so much more work to be done,” Falco said.