Riverhead to Hold Public Hearing on Pot Sales Rules

The Town of Riverhead has scheduled a public hearing to debate proposed legislation regulating pot shops and cannabis cafes that will soon be allowed to sell newly legalized recreational marijuana.

The hearing scheduled for 6 p.m. on October 18 will allow residents to weigh in on a proposed amendment to the town code that would “implement time, place, manner and saturation restrictions related to retail sale or on-site consumption for persons over the age of 21 within” Riverhead town.

Proposed rules include not allowing retail or on-site consumption establishments to be located near a school, playground, or daycare center, among other facilities. Retailers would be open until 8 p.m. weekdays and 10 p.m. on weekends while cafes would be required to close by 10 p.m. weekdays and midnight on weekends, according to the proposal. Such establishments would also be required to have an odor management plan in place.

Riverhead is one of four towns on Long Island that did not opt out of allowing recreational marijuana sales. The other three are Babylon, Brookhaven and Southampton. The state Cannabis Control Board has not yet licensed any retail establishments.