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LAUREL RUN — A future medical marijuana growing facility in the borough is still just a “concept,” officials said Thursday during a regular council meeting.
About two dozen residents came out to the borough building, 100 Dupont Road, to hear what Bright Star Bio Medics had to say about a proposed medical marijuana plant on a 200-acre parcel.
An informal discussion occurred between representatives of the company and borough residents before the council meeting. Solicitor Stephen Menn interrupted a discussion once the meeting had begun to alert council and residents it “just wasn’t the right time” to ask or answer questions on the plan.
“I would advise this board that I don’t think it’s appropriate at this time to make any comment regarding the project,” Menn said, noting representatives only told the board of their intentions to move forward with the project. “There is absolutely nothing presented to this board … with regards to a project at this point.”
Menn called comments and questions about noise and water pollution with the plant “premature until the project is presented and ready to go.”
The solicitor said there were “a number of requirements” before there could be shovels in the ground on the land — including being awarded a state permit to grow.
Because of a conflict of interest between the borough’s zoning officer, who also works for Borton-Lawson, and the project, the borough needed to appoint an alternate zoning officer for any and all zoning issues, including permits and hearings, during this specific project. Council voted to ask Alfred Benesch & Co., Hazleton, to step in as zoning officer.
Borton-Lawson is the engineer for the proposed plant.
Mayor Justin Correll said part of the application process is having correct zoning for the site, which is why the company wanted to start the process of addressing a potential zoning code discrepancy on the land.
Consultant on the project, Jamie Ware, of Philadelphia’s Wojdak & Associates, explained that the state opened permit applications on Tuesday. The state will then accept completed applications from Feb. 20 until March 20. Ware said decisions won’t come down from the state until mid-June.
Councilwoman Gloria Mosley, who had artist renderings of the project, went to make a comment during the meeting, but yet again, Menn shut her down.
“I don’t think there should be any comments made,” he said.
During the informal discussion, Tom O’Connor, of Bright Star, told worried residents there would be no emissions into the air or discharge into the ground from the facility.
“As I understand it, many people are concerned about groundwater contamination,” O’Connor said.