Cannabis

Island Grow met with Riverhead planners on Tuesday to advance plans for two indoor cultivation buildings on preserved farmland.

A ZBA hearing on two variances for a proposed Calverton cannabis greenhouse widened into debate over odors, traffic and code interpretation.

The town's cannabis code goes beyond the permissible restrictions allowed by the State Cannabis Law. A Suffolk judge ruled the code provisions void, and a state board separately reached the same conclusion. Riverhead plans to sue — joined by the Town of Southampton.

Supporters and opponents of cannabis businesses clashed at a public hearing Tuesday night on a proposed year-long pause on new dispensaries in Riverhead Town.

The Riverhead Town Board will consider a year-long moratorium on dispensaries in a bid to halt their development after a State Supreme Court judge ruled key aspects of the town’s cannabis zoning law invalid last week.

A Suffolk County Supreme Court judge last week struck down three key provisions of Riverhead Town’s cannabis zoning code — clearing the way for a dispensary in the long-vacant former bank building at 1201 Ostrander Avenue.

The owner of Planet Nugg, a dispensary based in Farmingdale, is opening a second location at 720 Main Road in Aquebogue.

Riverhead Planning The site plan application for a retail cannabis dispensary on the corner of Route 58 and Ostrander Avenue gained preliminary approval from the Riverhead Planning Board last Thursday.

Riverhead Town has rejected a proposal to site a retail cannabis dispensary in a Route 58 commercial building just west of the traffic circle because the location is less than 1,000 feet from the Riverhead High School property.

A used car dealership on the corner of Route 58 and Ostrander Avenue is slated to become a retail cannabis dispensary, according to a site plan application pending before the Riverhead Planning Board.