Hamilton, NJ Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)

01. Outdoor cultivation of cannabis or medical cannabis is barred outright. Section 550-143 layers on operating conditions: before opening, an operator needs site plan approval or a waiver from the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment, a municipal permit or license under Chapter 153, and a Cannabis Regulatory Commission license, with the municipal permit not taking effect until a zoning permit issues. The zoning permit must be renewed annually through Council approval as a condition of keeping the state license current. Location buffers are specific: no cannabis establishment, delivery service or dispensary may sit within 1,000 feet, measured by legal walking distance door to door, of any school, or within 500 feet of a recreation center, child-care establishment, house of worship, an R-Zone residence, or a public park's property line.

A separate 250-foot radius, measured wall to wall, applies from schools, recreation centers, child-care establishments and houses of worship, and from the property line of a playground or park. No Class 5 retailer may open within 1,300 linear walking feet of an existing Hamilton Township Class 5 retail license holder. Establishments must also install odor-mitigation ventilation, round-the-clock video surveillance, security fencing, and sight-blocking barriers, and signage may not depict cannabis plants or invite public walk-in traffic beyond retail.