An indoor marijuana cultivation facility is proposed for the Sandy Brae Industrial Park off Otts Chapel Road.
On Tuesday, the Newark Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend granting Herbal Growers LLC a special-use permit to open in two warehouses, totaling approximately 20,000 square feet, that were recently built at 302 Markus Court.
The request will move on to city council for final approval.
If approved, the facility will employ approximately 20 people and will be used for cloning, growing, drying, trimming and packaging marijuana. No retail sales will be conducted on site.
In 2018, Patel was diagnosed with a brain tumor and turned to medical marijuana to help relieve the dizziness and exhaustion he experienced.
“It gave me a relief I desperately needed,” he said. “With the proper dosage, I was able to not only cope with the symptoms, but also able to work, which was very important for me and my family at that time.”
Following brain surgery and a long, difficult recovery, Patel began to pursue marijuana as a business opportunity.
The state legalized recreational marijuana in 2023. Officials allowed interested businesses to apply for cultivation, manufacturing or retail licenses and set up a lottery process to chose who would receive the limited number of licenses. Patel won one of the 14 large-scale cultivation licenses offered in New Castle County.
After considering other sites around the county, Patel settled on the Markus Court location because it is located in the City of Newark.
“It’s a very friendly city,” the Bear resident said. “It’s great to work with the city. Whatever we have asked for, they have responded in a very short period of time.”
They plan to install air-lock corridors and carbon filters integrated into the exhaust and recirculation paths of the HVAC system to capture and neutralize odors.
The facility will be surrounded by a security fence and will be equipped with cameras and a security system that are monitored around the clock. Per state law, the building will not have any signage identifying it as a marijuana business.
Planning Commissioner Chris Williamson said that, even though he voted in favor of the special-use permit, he is concerned about odors affecting the nearby Persimmon Creek Swim Club and the Arbour Park neighborhood, where he lives. He suggested Patel establish an easy way for neighbors to notify the company if odors are bothering the community.
Planning Director Renee Bensley said the city doesn’t have a way to enforce odor issues directly, but city council does have the authority to suspend or revoke the special-use permit of any businesses deemed to be a detriment to the community.
Commissioner Karl Kadar urged Patel to take security seriously, suggesting the facility would be a target for burglars.
“This facility is a highly desirable place to hit, just saying,” Kadar said.
If approved, Herbal Growers LLC will be the second marijuana business to open in Newark. Fresh Delaware on Ogletown Road has offered cultivation and retail sales through the medical marijuana program since 2019 and has received a special-use permit to add recreational sales once it gets the green light from state regulators.
Though the state controls the distribution of licenses, municipalities and counties are allowed to use their zoning code to determine where marijuana businesses are allowed to operate. Some businesses have reported difficulty finding a place to open as many jurisdictions strictly limited where they can go and some towns outright banned marijuana businesses.
In Newark, after several months of debate, city council limited cultivation facilities to a few industrial areas on the outskirts of the city, including Sandy Brae Industrial Park, Diamond State Industrial Park on Bellevue Road and Interchange Business Park on Elkton Road.
City code allows cultivation facilities to offer retail sales as part of their business, but Herbal Growers LLC is not proposing to do so. Standalone marijuana dispensaries are allowed only near the intersection of Ogletown and Marrows Roads.
