DEXTER: VILLAGE TO SEEK TOWNSHIPS' INPUT ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA
DISPENSARY ORDINANCE

Dexter village will reach out to Scio, Webster, Dexter and Lima
townships after a vote on proposed medical marijuana regulation in the
village's code of ordinances Monday, Feb. 28.

The ordinances, which were crafted by the village planning commission
and Community Development Director Allison Bishop, were set aside in
favor of the regional approach proposed by Village Council Trustee Jim
Smith.

Smith explained that he wanted the village to model its efforts after
Holland and Zeeland Township, which collaborated on their ordinances
regulating marijuana dispensaries.

He read aloud a letter from the Ottawa County Substance Abuse
Prevention Coalition, which praised the "regional" cooperation between
municipal governments "to create a standard policy for the area" so as
to avoid confusion or conflict.

"The message is finding out what our townships feel that surround us
. maybe it's time that we consider bringing a coalition together from
the townships, the village and the sheriff's department," Smith said.

He called for a "common ordinance" for the region. Other council
discussion touched on one of the more talked about areas of the
ordinance: the distance limitations, which as set out in the ordinance
as drafted would prohibit dispensaries within 500 feet of school property.

Dispensaries would also be restricted to one location every 500 feet
within village limits, making three areas suitable for a dispensary:
near the railroad tracks and Central Street, along Baker Road near
Hudson Street and at the Dexter Crossing Shopping Center at the corner
of Ann Arbor and Dan Hoey roads.

Smith called for the school property distance restriction to be
increased to 750 feet, so a major school walk zone on Baker would be
taken off of the table for dispensary locations.

Joe Semifero questioned what areas would not be eliminated if the
village stretched distance limitations any further, given the already
small footprint of the village's borders.

Bishop replied that only areas along Central and Second streets would
remain under those circumstances.

Semifero questioned whether the limit was "arbitrary" given the 1000
feet federal Drug Free School Zone enforcement guideline, which
stipulates doubled fines and penalties for offenders charged with a
drug offense within that distance from a school zone.

Bishop pointed out that Drug Free School Zone enforcement only
applies to illegal drug use, which isn't necessarily an issue for
folks who follow the letter of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act:
"It just means that if you get caught with drugs that are illegal
(for you to possess) you get double the fines."

Village Trustee Jim Carson, who is also the council's liaison to the
planning commission, explained that the 500-foot restriction is
"conservative" based on the advice of the village's legal counsel,
which has been guiding the village in crafting the regulation since
village officials decided to take the enforcement route.

"Our attorney told us to make it as conservative as possible (while
still) allowing enough control to manage it," Carson said. "Looking at
all scenarios we felt that 500 feet allowed us to do that. It's that
simple."

Carson added that the 500-foot limitation is not based on case studies
of what any other municipality is doing.

"This is based on (whether) we (can) do this to make it fit within the
C-1 District ... this is the only thing that would allow it to work in
C-1," he explained.

C-1 is general business district zoning intended for sale of
convenience goods and personal services with provisions for medical
offices, workshops and private clubs. Medical marijuana dispensaries
would have been added to the list of C-1 uses if the planning
commission's regulation had been approved.

Smith said that it didn't make sense to approve an ordinance without
at least knowing, if not collaborating with neighboring townships,
with regard to how they will handle medical marijuana dispensaries in
their own backyards.

"It doesn't make sense to pass one thing and right outside the village
limits something else can be applied," Smith said. "Deputies in the
area service us and the townships ... it makes sense to have uniform
ordinances applying to medical marijuana and any abuse of that."

Trustee Paul Cousins said he was concerned with how long a regional
approach would take: "I hope it doesn't take as long as it did
coordinating a fire department (for the region, which) took two years."

Dexter Township is the only other municipality that has attempted to
address the issue.

Carson said that the lack of a similar downtown in the townships made
the comparison to Holland and Zeeland Township moot: "City of Holland
and township of Zeeland have downtowns ... Webster doesn't, Dexter
doesn't, Lima doesn't, Scio Township has a downtown if you call
Jackson Road a downtown, but that's actually an extension of Ann Arbor
. so are we going to include Ann Arbor in this too?"

In response, Smith answered that the example presented was to show the
benefit of cooperation between units of government, rather than a
specific comparison in situation.

Trustee Donna Fisher said that she wasn't concerned with extending the
medical marijuana moratorium for another three months if it means an
opportunity to collaborate.

"I can't see where a three-month period of time is going to increase
our liability," she said.

The village already extended the moratorium once last
December.

The council will vote at its next meeting, March 14, whether to extend
the moratorium again.

Cousins said that the two weeks leading into the next regularly
scheduled meeting would be enough to determine the surround townships'
interest in regional medical marijuana regulation.