Company plans cannabis greenhouses in Vernon

Sussex Cultivation has been approved for a Class 1 Cannabis Cultivator License and expects to build its facilities on farmland that borders Route 565 in Vernon.

Co-chief executive Brian Dowling said the company aims to have its engineering plan submitted to the township’s Land Use Board by early January.

Sussex Cultivation’s site falls within the ordinance and zoning requirements that the township has imposed. The company plans to put the facilities 1,000 feet from the road.

“It’s not visible from the road at all,” Dowling said. “I feel like it’s almost a quarter of a mile drive up into the farm to get up there.”

The state has allowed license awardees to start cultivating cannabis in temporary growing containers.

Dowling said Sussex Cultivation could start building its greenhouse facilities within a few weeks of receiving township approval.

The structures would be about 35,000 square feet, 30,000 of which would be canopy space that should be built out within six months of plan approvals.

There would be about 10 smaller greenhouses instead of a large one.

“We’re working with a few companies right now, and we have narrowed it down to one or two, which would be responsible for building the greenhouse facilities,” Dowling said.

The first phase of the project is setting up the greenhouses. The second phase would be manufacturing, which would put more money into township coffers.

Municipalities can tax cannabis cultivation at 2 percent and can tax another 2 percent when the product is manufactured and sold.

“I think that would be beneficial, certainly, for the township,” Dowling said.

Council President Patrick Rizzuto asked what the company would do to mitigate odor that may come from the facilities.

Dowling said the company would mitigate any odor as much as it could. If there are any issues, the company would address them.

“We feel like we’re putting together a state-of-the-art greenhouse facility that has all the bells and whistles,” he said. “That’s supposed to make it as odorless as possible.”

Regarding security, there will cameras and the company is contemplating having a security person there, he added.