In March 2022, we applied to the Township Committee for them to uphold the existing Cannabis Ordinance. They then denied us due process.. In a welcome change, Mayor Deal has recently acknowledged receipt of our application which was resubmitted on April 21, 2026, and we expect an opportunity to discuss the application with the municipal Cannabis Advisory Committee (created by the West Amwell Township Cannabis Ordinance), then, according to WAT law, the CAC “advises” the Township Committee about the Application, and the Township Committee either has to approve, deny or otherwise Conditionally Approve the Applicants request for “Municipal Authority”

Below is the text from our home page back in December 2025, when the then outgoing WAT Mayor, again attempted to deny our freedom to pursue a legal business in a location that previously had been permitted.

Allow Microbusinesses, In Rural Areas, they make sense and are a good way to promote opportunity and local jobs. 

——————————————————— DECEMBER 2025 Posting

We operate a diversified small farm in West Amwell, NJ.

NJ State law provides an opportunity for us to cultivate cannabis,

October 24, 2025 the Superior Court of NJ: Law Division, Civil Court Hunterdon County, Docket # Docket No. HNT-L-000040-24 – Ruled that West Amwell Township has failed to maintain the protection of its citizens, by ignoring the standard practice of Notifying Residents when significant changes to the zoning is being considered. 

Continuing in their bias and discrimination against our lawful application, the 2021 Township Committee members had attempted to unreasonably deny the Freedom of North Slope Farm to apply for Conditional Approval under the existing Township Ordinance, that says we should be allowed to develop and operate a State Licensed Micro-Business on our property. 

The Superior Court of NJ, Hunterdon County, found that the Repeal of the Cannabis Ordinance, without Planning Board and Public Notice, Public Hearings and normal Due Process has been DENIED.  So we start again…

The good news is, this doesn’t have to be the end result,

Support farmers freedom to pursue business opportunities without delay!

Support Business, Support Freedom, Support Farmers!

West Amwell Mayor Balaam, Gary Hoyer and Cally voted to deny the freedom of rural residents, in West Amwell Township, NJ, on December 30, 2025, by repealing the existing Cannabis Ordinance, that protects our “conditional” freedom to establish a Microbusiness Cannabis Cultivation option. Despite multiple calls from another Township Committee member and many calls from the public, Balaam refused to recuse himself, which would have left the vote balanced between the republicans and the democrats. Balaam has a property line conflict with the one applicant who actually does care, about cannabis, and about retaining the freedom to protect rural business opportunities (see our public comment presented at the meeting, below).

Each Committee member who commented said, “I don’t care about cannabis,” but Balaam wants the tax money from large scale Cannabisnesses, while Township Committee member Hudson spoke about the dubious origins of the original Cannabis Ordinance (unresolved “conflict of interest” with the original Cannabis Ordinance author, being employed by the only West Amwell cannabis License holder) and the “sketchy justifications” for the December 30 repeal of rural opportunities. Hoyer, Cally and Balaam referred repeatedly to their fear of West Amwell rural residents and justified their repeal of the existing Ordinance as the best way to block NJ Grow Free llc, who has an ongoing complaint against this unjustified repeal.

I presented the following Public Comment below, at the Public Hearing, which was followed immediately with the denial of freedom votes by Balaam, Hoyer and Cally.

Public Comment at West Amwell Township Public Hearing; December 30, 2025

Michael Rassweiler, residing on Rock Rd E, West Amwell Twp.

My wife and I, since 2022, been trying to get the Township Committee to uphold the Cannabis Law, and allow us due process. 

Since we started farming here in 1995, we have reclaimed the Agricultural potential of this property.  Over 25 years of our Stewardship we have remediated the catastrophic erosion, we have established and maintain soil conservation Diversions and Permanent Grass Waterways.  From the beginning of my management of this Farm Property, I worked closely with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), to be sure our farming practices are of the highest standard, protecting the soil from erosion, providing ample buffer zones to provide for healthy wildlife and diverse habitat, protecting our stream water quality and providing for Soil Health for the generations of farmers to come.  I maintain Organic Certification of our farming operation, and have done so for over 25 years.  Our soil health has dramatically improved during my stewardship, the value of our crop production has dramatically improved, we have experience establishing new crops and markets,

and having our right protected to grow Cannabis, as a microbusiness, is a logical addition to further diversify and invigorate established agricultural practices.

When we found that West Amwell Conditionally permits the cultivation of Cannabis, we submitted our proposal to the Township Committee for their review and began a frustrating process seeking Conditional Municipal Authority, to grow a legal crop, in a greenhouse, on our farm.

My proposal submitted to the Township Committee in 2022 included a business plan intended to help them understand the potential for small farms like ours to benefit from this incredible opportunity, and I respectfully request that the following facts be a priority in your consideration of this issue. 

The West Amwell Master Plan clearly states that it is the intention of the Township to support farming.  It also clearly recognizes that Cannabis is an Agricultural Crop and that supporting farmers to cultivate cannabis is an obvious way to support farming.

Our Business Plan, for NJ Grow Free LLC, secured the Conditional Approval of the State of NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ CRC), and while waiting for the Local Cannabis Advisory Committee to provide an opportunity to apply, we grew Hemp Cannabis for two years in the fields, with a Hemp Growers License from the NJ Dept. of Agriculture.

We have confirmation from the NJ Division of Taxation that we can establish a limited area for Cannabis Cultivation on our farm property, we have experience growing the crop without offending neighbors, and we have agricultural infrastructure already in place to be able to start as soon as the Township provides a legitimate path.

Please support Agriculture in West Amwell by Affirming the existing Cannabis Ordinance, allowing rural areas, to maintain the current conditional permission for MicroBusinesses.

Please vote “NO CHANGE” to the Existing and Established Cannabis Ordinance.

Your Voice can protect Rural Opportunity, because right now the Republican Mayors of West Amwell Township are using their power to spend money and set agendas, to deny rural residents the rights that we currently have.

Tuesday December 30th, at 7:30 PM – Tell the Township Committee to Protect Opportunities in Rural Areas, do not limit economic opportunities to highways and commercial districts, rural areas need opportunities like this to stay viable and diverse in production and markets.

West Amwell Rural resident landowners, along with all the other Land Development Zones, have a small opportunity to apply for a license for a microbusiness Cannabis Cultivation authority.

There is no risk to West Amwell Township from microbusiness cultivation operations, in fact, the opposite is true. New businesses will provide tax revenue from underproductive land, and stimulate employment and a diversity of associated opportunities. It is a small opportunity, because only two total Microbusinesses are allowed, in the Town, and microbusinesses are severely limited in their capacity.

The Problem is that West Amwell Mayors have not been upholding the Cannabis Ordinance, in general, and have specifically denied us our repeated requests for a legal local licensing process.

Click here to learn why we filed a complaint against the previous attempt to repeal the current zoning, and please note that the State Judge ruled against the Township Committee; already denying this repeal of the zoning. The Mayor needs to justify why after all these years, repeatedly amending the Ordinance, now they repeal it, all without any legitimate record of the decision-making process!

Sungrown cannabis, in a greenhouse, or if allowed, in the open air, directly provides investment opportunities for New Jersey agriculture.

Sungrown Cannabis Supports Investment and Opportunities for New Jersey Farmers!

NJ Grow Free LLC is a West Amwell Township, Woman Owned, cannabis cultivation partnership, already approved by the State of NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission, ready to start paying rent to the landowner, and taxes to West Amwell, to grow Cannabis Organically, in a hardened greenhouse, surrounded by a fence, with alarms, far from our property lines, in our Rural District.

We believe that rural areas should have economic opportunities developed and supported!

Click Here to learn more about what we propose, and please support the protection of Opportunities for Agriculture in Rural Areas !!

Why Deny a Farmer’s Opportunity, in West Amwell Township, in rural areas, from growing a legal crop in the Sun?

That is what is happening right now, the Republican Mayors of West Amwell Township, after first adopting the Cannabis Ordinance in 2021, have repeatedly reduced access to this legally protected Activity, dramatically reducing allowed Cultivation Opportunities, to then attempting to remove the right from rural residents to even be allowed to grow a crop that is being allowed in other areas.

Mayors Cally, Hoyer, and now Balaam have all failed to uphold the Cannabis Ordinance, by denying us an application to be heard by the Cannabis Advisory Committee, without any justification or explanation. These Mayors have all been serving while, blocking us, then attempting to repeal the Zoning in 2023, which we confronted, as being unjustified and unreasonable. The New Jersey Court ruled in our favor, and the litigation is ongoing, and until the Judge’s final ruling, it is inappropriate for the Mayor to pursue another zoning repeal, without proper justification and due process.

Click this link to read our original request for Due Process, in March of 2022.

This Link to learn about our NJ State Cannabis Cultivator, Conditional License, March 8, 2023.

When we first attempted to apply, for Municipal Authority (a requirement of the State of NJ Cannabis License), in 2022, the Cannabis Ordinance allowed “unlimited cultivation centers”, but it also required the plant to be grown in energy intensive indoor settings, including regulations that basically make it nearly impossible to do business, without constant local interference and fines. The Ordinance was amended to incentivize investment in Agricultural Development, by directing applicants to grow in the sun, in a greenhouse, not electric lights, in a warehouse.

Our proposal is unique, we want to support the normalization of this valuable cash crop, and we believe it can be done using traditional agricultural practices, with seasonality and just a short period of time when there is any actual security issue (annual harvest and short processing period in the fall).

Link Here to an Informational Brochure, explaining what we are proposing.

We have filed a complaint against West Amwell Twp for illegally changing the land use zoning, without notifying affected residents.  The 2024 West Amwell Township Committee is acting without respect for the rule of law, they are ignoring the Master Plan. They have made an awful mess of the legal process in West Amwell, are denying the Owners and Operators of North Slope Farm an incredible opportunity to achieve Agricultural Viability and have involved otherwise reasonable Township Professionals in unprofessional behavior.

To Support Farmers, to pursue legal opportunities, is easy, and will build the strength and vigor in local economies and encourage new farmers to invest in Agriculture. North Slope Farm can explain it to you if you want to see Agriculture in our local futures.

When a Municipality says they “Support Agriculture” then farmers need to be provided Due Process, and Land Use Applications and Licenses should be given direct assistance by the Township Professionals.

Municipalities often provide complicated applications a process to meet with Township Professionals to discuss issues that need review. The bigger the application the more the Township pays attention. We are a Micro Business application, and as such we are being ignored and mistreated. It’s been three years since we started this request for a Conditional License, and still West Amwell treats us like a stranger, despite the perfect appropriateness of our application and our over 25 years farming in this town, and many years serving on volunteer Township Boards.

Current standard land use process is the Municipality forces the Applicant to pay twice for Professional review. The Applicant must hire Lawyers and Engineers to present the application, and the Township Professionals then ALSO CHARGE the applicant to review the application. This makes sense when a large developer is proposing complicated changes to land use, but not when a farmer is asking to do something that does not change land use.

Support Agriculture by providing a pathway for local farmers to present their application in a supportive environment, without requiring EXTRA layers of punishing expenses and delays.

Instead, West Amwell Mayors Cally and Hoyer have presided over multiple Township lawyers slandering and mis-representing our application, without ever actually providing us with an opportunity to present our case to a legitimate legal hearing. And now that Mayor Cally and Hoyer have presided over an illegal Zoning change, even the Planning Board Engineer is unsure what to do. Basically, Mayors Cally and Hoyer have undermined the legal land use process in West Amwell, and the people who should care are turning a blind eye, despite the legal mess our municipality is creating.

I don’t have much hope for our own Application, because the people that need to approve the application, have all already denied us legal process, and are hiding from the truth. My only hope is that the West Amwell Professionals that do care about the legal process, and the Master Plan’s clear intention to Support Farmers, stand firm that the facts are in our favor, and we deserve SUPPORT, not abuse.

Below are Quotes from the West Amwell Master Plan, that made us believe our application was valid and appropriate.

The West Amwell Township Zoning Planning Board approved the statements; “C.40:55D-89b: “The Township continues to seek ways to promote agricultural activities…. Supporting
agricultural businesses… This is vitally important in achieving the Township’s goal of maintaining and
enhancing its rural agricultural character.”
Farmland and Cannabis (Page 6): “The growing of cannabis is a permitted activity under the State of NJ
Act and can be classified as an agricultural product.”
State Strategic Plan (Page 9): Targeted Economic Growth – Objectives: 1.3 – “Support land and water
based industries.”
Specific Changes Recommended (Page 14): “Support of the Cannabis Industry… can provide additional
support to farmers.”

Support Local Farmers, West Amwell,

Don’t Discriminate against us, Allow farmers to adapt to new opportunities, and invest in profitable crops.

For more information, contact us directly at 609-647-9754 and leave a message with your question.

To Support North Slope Farm – call Cally and Hoyer and ask them to justify why they are perverting the legal process in our home town. Ask the Cannabis Advisory Committee why they ignore our application. West Amwell Township Committee. West Amwell Cannabis Advisory Committee.

Contact the State Board of Agriculture, ask them why they are not looking into the viability of farmers to benefit from the incredible opportunity microbusiness Cultivation offers to small scale NJ Farmers.

Contact the NJ Governer and ask him how much abuse a Municipal Mayor can heap on a legitimate applicant seeking due process before the State recognizes that the Municipality is failing in their Administrative responsibilities and should be sanctioned and overridden?

County Administrative practices state that if an administrative function is not taking place, the next higher Administrative Authority takes responsibility. In our Case, the State of NJ Conditional Approval of our MicroBusiness, NJ Grow Free llc, should supersede the failed and discriminatory local Licensing (lack of) process. We still need to go before the Planning Board, but it should be a supportive and encouraging process, not a financially abusive and professionally dismissive one.

We are one small voice, but our voice is a call to SUPPORT AGRICULTURE and the forces against us are committed to undermining the legal process. We need responsible people and Agricultural Interests to wake up to the harm being done, by unethical people in power. Freedom matters, and people in power that misuse that authority and deny freedom to their citizens are unworthy of Public Office.

We are pleased to share that our potential Agricultural Enterprise, NJ Grow Free llc, has been awarded a conditional License for the Cultivation of Cannabis in New Jersey. The condition is that our Municipality grant us local authority. West Amwell Township has a (much amended) Cannabis Land Use Ordinance, and we seek to comply with it. Cannabis is a plant that we’d like to grow, like we grow other plants for sale. The State of New Jersey has processed our application and recognized that we have the potential to be a beneficial contributor to the economic health of New Jersey. Our priority is to build on our strengths, producing high quality products for long established markets. Our situation represents the case of a small farm, being ignored by “Big Agriculture, Local Government, and common sense government.”

North Slope Farm is a New Jersey Department of Agriculture licensed Hemp Grower, and hemp is basically the same plant as Cannabis, with different concentrations of THC. Our application to Cultivate Cannabis must navigate the roadblocks in local government, THEN, once West Amwell grants us Authority to comply with the Ordinance, (which has residual problems relating to invasion of privacy, and unfunded and unqualified review processes), we return to the State of New Jersey, Cannabis Regulatory Commission, to BEGIN the process of establishing COMPLIANCE – where our enterprise will establish protocols, and practices to ensure the safety of the community and maintain strict auditing of our production, so local and State Government can be assured of their TAXES.

Currently we are seeking a legitimate and accountable process to prove our application deserves the support of West Amwell Township, but there is a number of issues that the Township represents, that do not promote agriculture or support small farms, or even legitimate process, which is contrary to the West Amwell Master Plan, which clearly says that cannabis is an agricultural crop, and West Amwell agriculture should be encouraged and supported.

If you have questions, please call Mike, 609-647-9754. Leave a message if you’d like a reply.

Regarding Agricultural Opportunity in our Town, and the current prohibition against it.

Under the name “NJ Grow Free llc” my wife and I and another farmer shared our business plan with the Township Committee asking “municipal approval” to apply for a NJ State license, to grow cannabis, using our existing, traditional production practices, augmented with State Law security guidelines and monitoring requirements, this February.

The State of NJ allows Cannabis to be grown by Traditional Farmers, in the Sun, both in greenhouses and in the open air. The State law provides guidance for security, consistent with the Indoor growing that West Amwell Twp currently allows.

The Township Committee ignored us, without offering any justification why a Town whose Master Plan says Agriculture is important, and Cannabis is an Agricultural Crop would be prohibited, while energy intensive indoor production is allowed.

I shared the Master Plan language and page references, for those unaware that our Master Plan clearly states it’s support for Cannabis and Agriculture, at the April 6, 2022 Township Committee meeting, please see the link below.

Township Committee minutes 4/6/22

https://www.westamwelltwp.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif6411/f/minutes/4-6-2022tcm.pdf

Members of the committee may not be interested in the new opportunity that legal cannabis cultivation offers, but you should appreciate the significance of the potential to earn more money per unit of crop grown.  Everyone speaks of the decline of agricultural viability, and this is the first obvious potential to actually offer new markets and earning potential.

Right now the Cannabis ordinance is a mess, it contradicts our master plan and promotes energy sucking indoor cultivation as the only way forward.  As a long term, WAT farmer, I need to speak up, that the opportunity for a farmer like me to benefit from this new niche market, is real, and should be actively supported, not ignored.

We would grow one or possibly two successions, on a small scale, within a State Licensed, approved, secured alarmed fenced area, with minimal smell, due to the diffuse nature of natural production, outdoors, using sun for energy.

The crop would be harvested and sold with as little as two months of flowering, so only a brief time would there be smell, or risk of theft.  

All these factors are very different from the indoor, constant intensive yearround production, and excluding traditional farmers because folks are afraid of the unknown is just hurtful to farmers who are trying to promote Agricultural Viability.

The Ag community should know, this Cannabis Ordinance contradicts our master plan, is a bad ordinance, involving a quasi legitimate review process and excludes farmers from planting a legal crop, for no justifiable reason.

The Ordinance can be fixed by replacing the current prohibition of Outdoor Cultivation with, “Outdoor and greenhouse cultivation of Cannabis is permitted following the Guidance of NJ State Law.”

Also to ditch the unfunded, ill advised, extraneous local review process, relying instead on NJ State law, and the simple process of Municipal approval according to an improved Ordinance, and NJ State Licensing and Regulation.

Thanks for your attention to this important opportunity for Traditional Agriculture.  I encourage the committee to seek justification of the current prohibition against Traditional Agricultural Viability, see for yourself if this Cannabis Ordinance “serves to promote Agriculture as a positive contributor to West Amwell’s  economy…”

I can be available, as a long term resident and established farmer of West Amwell, to represent the relevance of this topic, at your convenience.

Mike Rassweiler

NorthSlopeFarm.com

NJ Grow Free llc