MEDICAL MARIJUANA, WIND TURBINES FALL UNDER NEW REGULATIONS APPROVED
by Kalamazoo City Commission

KALAMAZOO - People who want to harness wind energy or set up a
medical-marijuana dispensing business in the city of Kalamazoo now
have new rules to follow.

The Kalamazoo City Commission voted 5-0 Monday night to adopt zoning
ordinance language that outlines where wind turbines may be placed
and special rules that apply to models that are free-standing and
those that are mounted on buildings.

In addition, commissioners sidestepped calls from medical marijuana
proponents - including several patients - to delay action on the
measure that establishes licensed dispensaries as home-based
occupations rather than commercial businesses.

Opponents of the ordinance said it includes too many restrictions and
could be redesigned to generate revenue for the city.

Patterned after a more restrictive ordinance already adopted by the
city of Grand Rapids, people who spoke Monday night said Kalamazoo's
rules should reflect what they called this city's "more liberal"
views on medical marijuana.

When medical marijuana was legalized in Michigan in 2008, Kalamazoo
voters supported the measure by a 3-to-1 margin. The medical
marijuana ordinance becomes effective in 10 days and applies to
licensed primary caregivers who provide marijuana to certified
patients who do not grow their own.

Like other home-based businesses, sites are limited to serving no
more than eight clients a day and no more than two at any one time.

While state law requires only the marijuana plants to be secured in a
locked, enclosed facility, the new city ordinance requires both
plants and "any useable marijuana" to be secured at the distribution site.

Meanwhile, the new wind turbine rules prohibit the location of
larger, free-standing units on small residential lots. Instead, those
locations will have to rely on building-mounted turbines if they want
to capture wind to generate electricity.

The new rules require free-standing turbines to be set back from the
side and rear-yard lot lines a distance at least equal to the full
height of the equipment.

In most residential areas of the city, a turbine mounted on a
building may not extend more than 10 feet above the highest roof point.