Court Rules NY Cannabis Regs Overrides Riverhead Zoning

A Suffolk County court has ruled that New York State cannabis laws take precedence over local regulations in a significant decision involving the Town of Riverhead.

The ruling on July 29 in the case Tink & E v. Town of Riverhead, determined that the town’s attempts to restrict cannabis businesses through zoning laws conflict with state policy and are therefore invalid. The case centered on the town’s denial of a use variance for cannabis-related activity.

The court found that the Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in rejecting the application, and that no variance was needed in the first place. It also ruled that the town’s cannabis zoning restrictions violated the uniformity requirement in New York’s Town Law 262.

“This ruling is a major victory not only for our clients but for the entire state,” said attorney Martha Reichert, a partner at Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo LLP, who represented the intervening respondents. “It clarifies the boundaries between state and local authority on cannabis regulation and sets a precedent that will influence similar disputes across New York.”

The decision is considered one of first impressions in New York, it’s the first time a court has addressed this particular legal issue, specifically, whether municipalities are allowed to impose stricter cannabis zoning rules than the state allows.

The outcome is expected to influence how towns and cities across New York approach local cannabis regulation, especially with a rise in dispensary openings in the state.

Riverhead’s town attorney, Erik Howard sharply criticized the ruling.

“I am disappointed in the rationale set forth in the decision, which essentially eviscerates the ability to control, locally, the location of cannabis uses,” he said in a statement.

Howard also challenged the judge’s interpretation of the law, arguing that the regulation cited in the decision is not a state law but a rule issued by the Cannabis Control Board.

“There is nothing in the Cannabis Law which permits or authorizes the Control Board to adopt regulations that supersede the time, place, and manner powers retained by municipalities,” he said.

Though the court’s ruling is now in effect, Howard confirmed he has plans to appeal and is preparing a resolution for the Town Board to authorize the next steps in the coming weeks.