An appellate court ruled in favor of a proposed cannabis dispensary looking to build on a state-approved location, resolving a dispute over local zoning requirements.
In Matter of 1086 OCR, LLC v. Town of Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals, the Second Department affirmed that the Town of Riverhead could not enforce its local 1,000-foot school-buffer requirement against the proposed adult-use retail cannabis dispensary at 1086 Old Country Road. The court held that the town’s local requirement was preempted by state law because the Cannabis Law establishes the applicable school-distance standard and measurement methodology for licensed adult-use retail dispensaries.
As a result, the Appellate Division agreed that 1086 OCR LLC and Brian Stark Enterprises LLC do not need a variance from Riverhead’s local 1,000-foot school-buffer requirement to proceed with the dispensary at the state-approved location.
The appeal arose after the town denied a building and use permit application for a proposed adult-use retail cannabis dispensary at 1086 Old Country Road on the ground that the property was located within 1,000 feet of a school under the Town Code. The applicants sought relief from the Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals, which denied the variance application. Reichert then challenged the determination in a hybrid Article 78 proceeding and declaratory judgment action.
The Suffolk County Supreme Court granted the petition and annulled the ZBA’s determination. On appeal, the Second Department affirmed the core preemption ruling and held that no variance was required.
Martha F. Reichert, a partner at the Riverhead law firm Twomey Latham Shea Kelley Dubin & Quartararo, LLP and Co-Chair of its Land Use and Zoning Practice Group, represented 1086 OCR LLC, Brian Stark Enterprises LLC, and Brian Stark before the Town of Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals in connection with the underlying variance application and continued to represent the petitioners/plaintiffs in the subsequent Article 78/declaratory judgment litigation and appeal.
She said the decision is important for New York’s emerging adult-use cannabis industry because it confirms that municipalities that did not opt out of the State cannabis program may not impose cannabis-specific local restrictions that conflict with rights granted under the Cannabis Law.
“This decision provides needed clarity for State-licensed cannabis operators and property owners navigating local land-use approvals,” Reichert said. “The Second Department recognized that Riverhead’s local 1,000-foot school-buffer requirement imposed an additional restriction on a state-approved dispensary location. The ruling confirms that local zoning authority has limits where the Legislature has created a comprehensive state licensing framework.”