Phillipsburg is reconsidering is rules for a medical marijuana facility in town after it was revealed the current proposal would put a growing operation within 1,000 feet of an elementary school.

The town still wants the distributor, Council President Bobby Fulper said Friday, but the company will quickly have to find a new location for its processing facility.

"It's a matter of morals and ethics," he said. "There's no way we can put drugs next to kids."

The current proposal by NETA NJ -- a limited liability company based out of Ewing -- would put a dispensary at 55 Main St. and a separate cultivation and processing plant at 400 Heckman St., to the rear of Phillipsburg Elementary School, according to a report Friday by Politico, citing health department documents.

The health department has not yet posted the detailed applications on its website. A listed phone number for NETA NJ could not be found.

The NETA NJ application was one of six given the green light this week by the state health department, out of 146 total applicants. It would be the first in Warren County -- residents here currently must drive at least an hour to Woodbridge to pick up such prescriptions.

Before opening, applicants must pass background checks, meet safety and security requirements and obtain municipal approval.

In November, the town council approved the first reading of an ordinance specifying where medical marijuana operations can go. Per that ordinance, dispensaries are not allowed near schools but processing facilities would be, provided they meet certain criteria -- including no public access, “innocuous” signs, no marketing of the site and no “unusual odors.”

However, ordinances must be twice approved by the end of the year before becoming law. This one also required a review by the town planning board. Fulper said neither happened.

That means the original ordinance is dead and council will have an opportunity to craft a new one at its first meeting next year.

Fulper said council did not know the exact location of NETA NJ’s proposal when the first vote was taken, but that the town and company “have committed to exploring other properties” within Phillipsburg.

The clock is ticking. Politico reports that the company has 30 days to secure a location and meet other requirements, or consider new plans.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveNovakLVL and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.