Cannabis company sues Pound Ridge for blocking store

A cannabis company has sued the Town of Pound Ridge for enacting a moratorium to block a new store.

Purple Plains, of Waccabuc, claims that the town passed a bad law, in a complaint filed Feb. 20 in Westchester Supreme Court, and it is asking for the moratorium to be  declared “null, void and jurisdictionally invalid.”

Kevin C. Hansan, the town supervisor, declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The New York State Legislature legalized cannabis in 2021 but allowed municipalities to pass local laws by Dec. 31, 2021 to opt-out of allowing sales or on-site consumption.

Pound Ridge held two public hearings, according to the complaint, but did not pass an opt-out law by the deadline.

Jack Mortell and his daughter, Sophia, formed SMMB Inc. and registered the assumed name Purple Plains in 2022.

They leased a storefront on Westchester Avenue where a wine and liquor store had operated for 20-some years, and they applied for a provisional state license to operate a cannabis dispensary.

The state Office of Cannabis Management approved the provisional license last year, and Purple Plains notified the town of its plans to open a store.

At that point, according to the complaint, Pound Ridge had 30 days to register its opinion for or against a permanent license to operate the cannabis store, but failed to do so.

Then in response to residents who oppose cannabis sales, Purple Plains claims, Pound Ridge took steps to block the store.

For instance, the town required a certificate of occupancy for retail use. Purple Plains says it already has a valid occupancy certificate from the location’s prior use as a retail wine and liquor store.

This past December, the Pound Ridge Town Board enacted Local Law 4. The town set a six month moratorium on land use approvals “to protect the best interests of the town,” including “the location of businesses related to adult cannabis use.”

Purple Plains claims that Local Law 4 has some shortcomings.

First, it is a zoning amendment that had to be referred to the Westchester County Planning Department for review and comment. It was not submitted, according to the complaint, therefore it is defective.

Second, the state cannabis law does not allow municipalities to adopt local laws to ban cannabis sites after the Dec. 31, 2021 opt-out deadline, according to the complaint.

On Feb. 6, the Town Board adopted a resolution to ask the state legislature to re-instate the opt-out period for nine months.

The current cannabis law does allow towns to pass reasonable and practicable regulations governing the time, place and manner of cannabis operations, according to the complaint.

But Local Law 4 does not govern time, place and manner of cannabis businesses, Purple Plains claims. Even if the law could be characterized as doing so, it would make operating a retail cannabis business unreasonably impractical.

Purple Plains wants the court to nullify Local Law 4 and stop Pound Ridge from enforcing it.

The business is represented by attorneys Nicholas M. Ward-Willis and Edward J. Phillips of Keane & Beane PC, White Plains.