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Habitat For Humanity to rehab long-vacant township property By SUe FerrArA
Bordentown Township Mayor Steve Benowitz cuts the ribbon for Curaleaf in Bordentown on Aug. 27, 2021. (Facebook Photo/Burlington Mercer Chamber of Commerce.)
Area’s cannabis business outlook continues to evolve Bordentown to consider retail cannabis in 2022 as Bordentown City follows new ordinance By ReBeKAh SchrOeDer
Bordentown Township residents could see a retail cannabis store sometime in the next year if the township’s committee decides on a new ordinance—one that allows for one retail cannabis distribution license in the highway commercial zone. Last June, Bordentown passed an ordinance that prohibited recreational canna-
bis establishments in town. Now, a new ordinance is being crafted for consideration during the first quarter of next year, said Michael Theokas, Bordentown Township administrator. The new measure would follow all of the standard procedures of public comments and notification. The proposed change would not specify a company or property, although Bordentown’s Curaleaf, which is
currently operating as a medical cannabis dispensary only, could include retail sales in their repertoire if they choose to apply for a license. The Curaleaf facility, which is located at 191 U.S. 130, within the township’s designated highway commercial zone, opened as the company’s 109th facility in August 2021. Company officials appeared before the township committee with a presentation proposing the sale of recreational marijuana in town. “They’ve been a very good neighbor and a good corporate citizen to the township,” See HABITAT, Page 6
In 2004, University of Melbourne (Australia) professor Shelley Mallett asked the question: What do research studies tell us about the idea of home? She discovered the word home has many meanings for people around the world. Home is a place–an actual dwelling; or a location, like a country.. Home could be a feeling. Home could be a place where something was invented. Here in New Jersey, home is often an unattainable dream because of the cost of housing. But thanks to a partnership forged between Bordentown Township and Habitat for Humanity of Burlington and Mercer Counties, ten families will make their own discoveries about the meaning of home in 2022. That’s because the township and Habitat have inked a deal to provide five affordable housing duplexes on a 1.3 acre site on Thorntown and Crosswicks Rd. This story takes its beginnings from the 1975 Mount Laurel decision on affordable housing, a decision which resulted in many lawsuits and complicated specifications. Suffice it to say that all townships in NJ are required to provide a certain number of affordable housing units based on a formula. And as part of that decision, developers who build non-residential units in a township must pay a fixed 2.5% of the cost of the project to a township. Those funds are then kept in what
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is called an Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Those monies can only be used for the construction of affordable housing. Entering into this picture is Bordentown Township Administrator Michael Theokas. Each day, on his way to work, he would pass the properties on the corner of Thorntown and Crosswicks roads. “There were three multi-family homes there. Two were listed for sale, and they were not in great condition, said Theokas in an interview. “They were older homes beyond repair. They were an eyesore. I would see them all the time as I drove to work.” Two of the homes were listed for sale. The township was in the middle of finalizing its compliance requirements for affordable housing, said Theokas, and that’s when he came to an aha moment. Theokas came to his Bordentown job having been the City Administrator for Woodbury. During his tenure in Woodbury, he worked closely with Habitat for HumanityGloucester County. “I made a cold call to Habitat for Humanity of Burlington and Mercer County and asked if the organization would be interested in doing a project in Bordentown,” Theokas said. Subsequently, the third house became available and the township bought all three properties using money from its Affordable Housing Trust Fund. See CANNABIS, Page 8
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