The Town of Newburgh Board will host a public hearing on December 27 to seek comments from the public on a proposed Cannabis Zoning Amendment for the town. According to legal documents provided by Town Attorney Mark Taylor, the local law defines and permits certain uses determined by the State of New York when licensed for cannabis in various zones. Terminology such as Cannabis Distribution Facility, Cannabis Medical Dispensary, etc. were amended and defined within the local law along with required parking spaces at each facility. The local law defines various distance requirements for most of the defined facilities within the local law.

Most approvals or permits shall not be issued to the various facilities either within 200 or 500 feet of a designated area such as a playground, park, public day care center, drug or alcohol treatment center, publicly preserved or conserved land, athletic field, facilities operated by a homeowners association or community group or dwelling unit. Further distance requirements are available in the meeting notes on the town website.

Special use permits for cannabis related consumption premises, retail dispensaries and microbusiness facilities will need to appear and be approved by the town planning board. The local law also requires that the facilities have state licenses, proper safety plans and maintenance plans in place.

Several members brought up the concerns and regulations about smoking in parks or other public areas, such as Chadwick Lake for example.

Commissioner James Presutti who was at the work session stated that the park has no smoking signs posted. Additional questions can be addressed at the public hearing at town hall later in December.