Borough of Highland Park, NJ Licensing

Within 60 days of the passage of this Part 1, the Borough will issue a request for applications for applicants seeking licensing. The application process will be open for 30 days. Any submissions received after the 30 days expire will not be evaluated for a license. The scoring shall be on a scale of zero to 100 as set forth in the criteria established by the Borough within the application package. The highest scoring applicants shall be pre-approved for licensure with the Borough pursuant to obtaining a license from the state. Any applicant that receives scoring less than 80 points out of 100 shall not be approved.

Procedures. Persons wishing to obtain any classification of cannabis license shall submit a response to the application package that is to be available with the Borough Clerk, on a standardized form established by the Clerk. The Clerk shall establish a reasonable opening period and deadline for all applications. An application shall be deemed incomplete, and shall not be processed by the Clerk, until all documents and application fees are submitted.

Completeness. To be deemed complete, all responses to the request for applications shall be accompanied by the following:

(1)

Nonrefundable application fee.

(2)

Registration fee, which shall be refunded in the event the applicant does not receive a license.

(3)

Zoning permit demonstrating that the location proposed for licensing by the applicant complies with all applicable requirements of the Borough's land development regulations set forth in Chapter 230 of this Code.

(4)

Proof that the applicant has or will have lawful possession of the premises proposed for the cannabis establishment, which proof may consist of: a deed, a lease, a real estate contract contingent upon successful licensing, or a binding letter of intent by the owner of the premises indicating an intent to lease the premises to the entrant contingent upon successful licensing.

(5)

Affidavit and documentary proof of compliance with all state and local laws regarding affirmative action, anti-discrimination and fair employment practices. The applicant shall also certify under oath that they will not and shall not discriminate based on race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.

(6)

Affidavit or other documentary proof that any person proposed to have an ownership interest in the license shall not have had any cannabis license or permit revoked for a violation affecting public safety in the State of New Jersey or a subdivision thereof within the preceding five years.

All applications, upon being deemed complete, shall be reviewed by the Borough Administrator or his or her designee(s) and scored based upon the evaluation criteria as listed within application package, including, but not limited to, community benefits, local hiring process, promoting of diverse ownership structures, environmental sustainability and financial sustainability. The highest scoring applicants will then be referred to the Council for consideration to issue a "resolution of local support."

Notwithstanding the foregoing competitive application process, a notification of award and resolution of local support shall entitle the recipient applicant to pursue a state permit or license in the appropriate classification for up to 12 months, which may be extended in the Administrator's discretion for an additional six months for good cause. No license to operate shall issue until the applicant has received a state permit and satisfied other prerequisites of municipal licensure. If the recipient of a notice of award and conditional license has not received a state permit or license within 12 months from issuance, unless extended for good cause, the Administrator shall issue a new request for proposals and evaluate all applicants for licensure under the above criteria.

Final approval from the Borough will be in the form of a local business license being issued. The local business license will not be issued from the Borough until a state-issued license is presented to the Borough Clerk's office for presentment to the Council to authorize the Clerk's office to issue the license by way of resolution.

The number and type of cannabis licenses and the annual fees therefor shall be as follows:

Class of License	Application Fee (nonrefundable)	Annual Registration Fee (refunded in the event the applicant does not receive a license)	Number of Licenses
Class 5 cannabis retailer	$1,000	$5,000	Limited to 5
Class 6 cannabis delivery service	$1,000	$2,500	No limit

The license fee shall be paid on or before January 1 and shall cover the time period from January 1 until December 31. For a license issued after December 1 and before December 31, the license fee shall be prorated on a per-month basis.

Licenses issued pursuant to this Part 1 shall be personal to the licensee and shall not be transferable.

A separate license shall be required for each class of cannabis business, and a separate application fee and registration fee shall be charged for each type of license.