[This article was published in Jan, 2017.]
Because Newtown Township is part of a joint municipal zoning consortium with neighboring Upper Makefield and Wrightstown townships (JMZO), any zoning ordinances regulating the location of the cannabis operations must be approved by all three municipalities, collectively known as the “jointure.”
At the Jan. 11 Newtown supervisors meeting, township solicitor Jeffrey Garton briefed the board on the Jan. 5 joint zoning council meeting, which he attended, and the lengthy discussions over the state’s medical marijuana law which was signed by Gov. Tom Wolf in April 2016.
“We need to proceed on how to zone for medical marijuana,” he said. “Under the act, dispensaries and growing facilities have to be treated the same way as other similar uses in the zoning ordinances, but you can regulate it.
“In Pennsylvania, there are restrictions on growing,” added township manager Kurt Ferguson, who said that it can be grown “hydroponically,” which is in chemically-treated water.
“It also cannot be smoked,” he added. “It will be sold in little strips.”
The new state law only allows edible forms of marijuana and vaporization to be dispensed; smoking is not permitted.
Ferguson also told the board that he and assistant township manager Micah Lewis are planning to attend a half-day seminar on Feb. 1 sponsored by Lafayette College in Easton.
According to the township manager, the conference will have speakers from surrounding states that already have medical marijuana laws in place and discuss the issue from a zoning perspective.
“There will also be a medical marijuana grower who will talk about what kind of facilities they look for and what land,” Ferguson said. “We’ll gather all of that [information] and provide it to the board [of supervisors] and the jointure.”
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UPDATE (5/29/23): NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of Supervisors of Newtown Township will hold a public hearing on Monday, June 19, 2023 at the Newtown Township Building, 100 Municipal Drive, Newtown, PA 18940, at 7:00 PM, to consider, and if appropriate, take action on, the application of KRE Upper Macungie Associates LP for a determination that the Newtown Area Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance is unconstitutionally de jure and/or de facto exclusionary with respect to the legitimate and protected apartment use, for which use provision must be made in all Pennsylvania municipalities, and corresponding adoption of a proposed curative amendment to cure such defect.
Pursuant to Section 916.1(e) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, notice is hereby given that the validity of the Newtown Area Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance is in question, and the application, including all plans, explanatory material, and proposed ordinance amendment (LINK to online version: https://bit.ly/KRE_ValidityChallenge) may be examined by the public at the Newtown Township Building, 100 Municipal Drive, Newtown, PA 18940, during regular business hours, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
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