Stone Hill Manufacturing seeks to launch manufacturing cannabis operations prior to cultivation
Cannabis manufacturing may soon be allowed in Hopewell Township’s Special Industrial [SI] Zone.
Stone Hill Manufacturing is seeking approval from Hopewell Township to temporarily allow for cannabis manufacturing at its warehouse facility on Reed Road, which sits in the SI zone.
The Township Committee will have a public hearing on amending the cannabis ordinance to permit manufacturing in the zone as a conditional use on Aug. 7.
The ordinance has to go to the Planning Board for review before it comes back to the Township Committee for the public hearing.
The current cannabis ordinance only allows for cultivation and manufacturing to occur in the Valley Resource Conservation zone.
Hopewell Township only allows one cannabis cultivator or manufacturer to operate in the township. The township does permit a single company or entity that has both cultivator and manufacturer licenses as long as both are on the same site.
The township currently only permits cannabis cultivation and manufacturing in the Valley Resource Conservation [VRC] Zone.
The upcoming public hearing follows a presentation by Stone Hill Manufacturing that was made in April. The company is seeking approval from the Township Committee for a temporary manufacturing warehouse facility in the zone on Reed Road.
The proposal for Stone Hill allows for the company to have manufacturing operations temporarily until its main facility on 147 Washington Crossing Pennington Road becomes operational.
The main facility will have both cultivation and manufacturing on site as Stone Hill builds out its operation. Those plans remained unchanged at the time of the company’s initial presentation in August 2022.
Stone Hill had completed the investigation phase by the Cannabis Regulatory Commission for the Class 1 (cultivation) and Class 2 (manufacturing) licenses. The company is waiting on the Commissioners approval of the license applications.
Rob Piasio, co-founder and CEO of Stone Hill Manufacturing, said speed to market is a “major priority” and they are pursuing the idea of launching their manufacturing operations prior to cultivation.