Riverhead loses bid to block cannabis dispensary near high school; appeals court blocks another

A state appeals court cleared the way for a proposed cannabis dispensary near Riverhead High School — while blocking another planned beside a home off Route 58.

The decisions, handed down Wednesday, July 30, largely upheld Riverhead’s power to decide where cannabis businesses can operate. But the court found the town went too far by requiring dispensaries to remain 1,000 feet from schools when state law sets the buffer at 500 feet.

The ruling in favor of Brian Stark Enterprises means the company does not need a variance to pursue a dispensary in the former Aboff’s Paints store at 1086 Old Country Road, about 733 feet from Riverhead High School.

In a separate decision, the Appellate Division’s Second Department upheld the town Zoning Board of Appeals’ rejection of a dispensary proposed by Tink & E. Co. in a former bank building at 1201 Ostrander Ave. The building sits within 50 feet of a single-family home.

The split rulings come as cannabis sales become big business in Riverhead, generating $801,128 in town tax revenue last year, according to its 2025 annual financial report.

Town Attorney Erik Howard said Riverhead was pleased with the Tink ruling but is consulting special counsel about its options after losing the Stark case.

Mr. Howard argued that the state’s 500-foot school buffer should be read as a minimum rather than a limit on what towns may require.

“There is no language in that section suggesting that an opting-in municipality cannot establish a greater distance requirement,” he told the Riverhead News-Review.

The town adopted its cannabis zoning rules in 2022 and amended them two years later. The code generally bars dispensaries within 1,000 feet of schools or homes and requires 2,500 feet between cannabis retailers. The residential buffer does not apply to properties with frontage and vehicle access along five designated commercial corridors.

The town Planning Department rejected Stark’s permit application because the former paint store fell within Riverhead’s school buffer. The ZBA unanimously denied his variance request in June 2025.

Stark and the property owner sued, arguing that Riverhead’s rule conflicted with state Cannabis Law. The state measures its 500-foot buffer between the nearest building entrances, while Riverhead measures from property lines.

A Suffolk County Supreme Court justice sided with Stark last September and struck down several portions of Riverhead’s cannabis code.

The appellate court agreed that Riverhead’s 1,000-foot school buffer conflicted with state law. But it reversed the lower court’s broader finding that the town’s school, residential and dispensary-separation rules violated a state requirement that zoning be applied uniformly within each district.

The result is that Stark does not need the variance denied by the ZBA, allowing the former Aboff’s site to return to the town permitting process.

Martha Reichert, a Twomey Latham partner representing Stark, said the ruling places a clear limit on local restrictions of state-licensed cannabis businesses.

“The appeals court recognized that Riverhead’s local 1,000-foot school-buffer requirement imposed an additional restriction on a state-approved dispensary location,” she said in a statement.

The same appellate panel reached the opposite conclusion in Tink’s case.

Tink sought to open in a former bank building just outside one of Riverhead’s designated cannabis corridors. Because the property has no frontage on Old Country Road and sits within 1,000 feet of a home, the town required a variance.

The ZBA denied the request in February 2025, finding in part that the business would alter the neighborhood’s character. The board also found that Tink’s hardship was self-created because the company signed its lease before dispensaries were permitted there.

A lower court overturned the denial, but the appellate panel reinstated it. The judges found Riverhead had a reasonable basis for treating properties along its designated commercial corridors differently and ruled that the ZBA had acted rationally.

Because Tink cannot operate at the site without a variance, the court did not decide whether Riverhead’s 2,500-foot separation rule conflicts with state law.

Howard said the Tink ruling validates both the town’s residential buffer and the ZBA’s authority to weigh requests for relief.

He argued that the Stark ruling conflicts with another section of the Cannabis Law allowing towns to enact reasonable restrictions on the time, place and manner of cannabis sales.

“I am exploring the town’s options in response to the Stark determination as it relates to various sections of the Cannabis Law with special counsel,” Howard said.

He added that Riverhead continues to believe the state Office of Cannabis Management and Cannabis Control Board have issued regulations and decisions beyond the authority granted to them by the Legislature.

The town has not said whether it will appeal or begin processing Stark’s permit application.

The decisions come as Riverhead’s legal cannabis market continues to grow. Strain Stars on Old Country Road and Beleaf in Calverton have operated since late 2024. Planet Nugg is preparing to open a 4,000-square-foot dispensary at 720 Main Road in Aquebogue after the Planning Board approved its site plan last August.

Under state law, Riverhead receives 3% of retail cannabis sales within the town, while another 1% goes to Suffolk County.