Riverhead's cannabis zoning rules 'legally invalid,' Suffolk judge says

A Suffolk Supreme Court justice struck down a Riverhead Town law requiring cannabis dispensaries to be 2,500 feet apart because it conflicts with state regulations.

The decision Tuesday from Judge Paul M. Hensley sides with the applicant of a proposed cannabis dispensary in Riverhead. The applicant sued the town in March after the town denied it a zoning variance.

Riverhead’s rules directly conflict with New York State, which requires dispensaries to be spaced 1,000 feet apart, Hensley wrote.

Hensley ruled town code is preempted by the state’s guidelines and that zoning should be enacted uniformly.

“Owners of property in the same district should be treated alike and without discrimination,” the judge wrote in his decision. 

Hensley said Riverhead’s rules that dispensaries must be 2,500 feet apart were “legally invalid.” 

The ruling also says the town’s buffer of 1,000 feet from homes is legally invalid and void.

Applicant lauds 'relief'

Elizabeth McGrath, who owns Tink & E. Co., sued Riverhead in March after its zoning board rejected a variance needed to open a dispensary at 1201 Ostrander Ave., a former bank.

Though the property is zoned to allow retail, it can’t be accessed via Old Country Road, a requirement under Riverhead’s rules for cannabis dispensaries.

Hensley said the applicant does not need to obtain a variance and may seek a building permit and certificate of occupancy.

McGrath’s attorney, Andrew Schriever at Holland Schriever LLP, said they intend to move forward with plans to open the dispensary. Riverhead T ow n Attorney Erik Howard said he plans to appeal the decision.

Schriever said the ruling was the first “significant victory” on Long Island in overturning local zoning for cannabis dispensaries. Businesses have cited those regulations, particularly in Riverhead, as a major hurdle since the state legalized recreational marijuana in 2021.

Schriever said the town’s denial clashed with a “fundamental proposition in zoning, which is you can’t discriminate based on a use.” He said Riverhead’s code was “absurd” because the town is surrounded by sites that allow cannabis retail outright.

“To the left and the right of us, stores can sell cannabis, but somehow our store was going to change the character of the neighborhood?” Schriever said.

Town: Blow to local control

Howard said he was disappointed in the court’s interpretation, which he believes is at odds with state cannabis law that gives municipalities the authority to set regulations governing the “time, place and manner” of businesses.

“The judge in this case … he’s essentially saying that the state cannabis control board has the authority to regulate these, not the Town of Riverhead,” Howard said in an interview.

Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard agreed, saying local control is one reason Riverhead opted into allowing dispensaries in the first place.

“It goes against everything we envisioned when we agreed to do this,” he said Wednesday. “I’m very disappointed in the state coming back and reversing the rules on us.”

A spokesperson for the state Office of Cannabis Management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Other bids affected

Riverhead’s zoning rules created a race to the finish line among several dispensaries vying for approvals near one another, but the judge’s decision resolves those conflicts.

A dispensary pitched by Peter Moutafis for a former car dealership at the corner of Route 58 and Ostrander Avenue won preliminary site plan approval from Riverhead’s planning board earlier this month. But Hensley’s ruling says that proposal “does not have priority” over Tink & E., which is across the street. Records from the state Office of Cannabis Management show no license has been granted for the Moutafis property.

Moutafis and his attorney, Vincent Trimarco Sr., of Smithtown, did not respond to requests for comment. 

Down the road, Brian Stark is also seeking to open a dispensary at 1086 Old Country Rd. The town zoning board rejected the plan for being too close to public school property.

Riverhead forbids dispensaries within 1,000 feet of school property, while state law requires a 500-foot buffer. Stark’s property is about 735 feet from school grounds, according to his attorney, Martha Reichert of the Riverhead law firm Twomey Latham.

“We’re encouraged by the decision,” Reichert said Wednesday. “We expect the judge to apply the same legal analysis.”

Riverhead already has two dispensaries: Beleaf on Middle Country Road in Calverton and Strain Stars on Route 58 in Riverhead. The East Farmingdale-based Planet Nugg also recently confirmed plans to open a second location on Main Road in Aquebogue, Newsday reported last week.