MEDICAL MARIJUANA ORDINANCE MOVES TO CITY COUNCIL

After issuing a moratorium several months ago on the dispensation of
medical marijuana in Grand Haven, City Council will soon have a look
at regulations governing the issue in the city.

"The city of Grand Haven felt it would be in the city's best interest
to allow medical marijuana facilities to exist as a home-based
occupation," City Planner Kristin Keery said.

The Grand Haven Planning Commission approved recommending the
ordinance in a 6-3 vote Tuesday night. Commissioners Erin Kauth,
Tyler Hayes and Mark Hills voted against it.

City Council is expected to consider the proposed zoning ordinance
amendment at its Sept. 7 meeting.

While the dispensation of medical marijuana would be allowed as a
"minor" home-based occupation in residential districts, it would not
be permitted in commercial-or industrial-zoned districts. This was an
issue that was taken up by some of the planning commissioners when
debating the regulations.

"I'd like to see it in industrial or transitional industrial areas,"
Hayes said.

This additional zoning district would allow everyone to participate
as a caregiver, he said, since certain restrictions such as proximity
to local schools could cause people to not participate.

"Obviously, the attorney and I don't support that effort," Keery said
of allowing caregivers to operate outside of the residential district.

She said their interpretation is that it isn't allowed by state law
to be in the transitional industrial or industrial districts, which
could open up the city to a potential lawsuit.

Along with only being allowed in the residential district, some of
the regulations in the recommended ordinance include: having medical
marijuana only be permitted in the home of the permitted caregiver,
only one caregiver would be allowed to exist per dwelling, the
medical marijuana would have to be grown in the dwelling and no
caregiver could have more than five patients. Caregivers would also
be required to register with the Michigan Department of Community
Health and the city's Planning Department.

"This would have helped my wife at the time she was suffering," said
Planning Commissioner John Ringelberg, whose wife died in 2001 after
a bout with cancer. "But we want to do this right."

Among his concerns with the new ordinance, Ringelberg said, is where
the medical marijuana would come from. He made sure the ordinance
spelled out that the medical marijuana was grown and processed at the
caregivers' facilities.

The Planning Commission had scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday
night's meeting, but there was no comment from the audience and Keery
said she hadn't received any correspondence from Grand Haven citizens
on the issue.

Along with making sure language was correct when sending the
recommendation to City Council, planning commissioners also wanted to
make sure residents were informed about the ordinance if City Council
approves revised language.

Kauth said the city needed to give "due diligence" to make sure those
that would want to be caregivers were notified that they had to
register with the state as well as the city.