MEDICAL MARIJUANA ORDINANCE EVOLVES

Public Hearing Set for Feb. 1

WILLIAMSTON - Residents can weigh in on proposed rules regulating
medical marijuana businesses on Feb. 1.

The Planning Commission has set a public hearing for that date on a
draft zoning amendment that would allow dispensaries to be located in
three industrially zoned areas of the city.

Those businesses would have to be at least 1,000 feet from a public
or private school and no closer than 500 feet to a church, licensed
child care facility, residential district or public library, park or
playground.

Qualified patients would be able to grow marijuana for their own use
anywhere in the city, as long it is in a secured building.

Long Time in the Making

The draft ordinance has been in the works for months.

On Jan. 10, the City Council reviewed recommendations from the
Planning Commission and took the first step toward extending a
six-month moratorium on medical marijuana businesses.

That would give the city enough time to adopt the new zoning rules.

The moratorium is set to expire Feb. 23 but would be extended by 90
days if the council approves a second reading.

The planning board endorsed a draft amendment on Jan. 4 that would
have allowed medical marijuana dispensaries to be located within
either the I-1 or I-2 zoning districts.

But council members who attended the Jan. 10 meeting said those
businesses should be restricted to the I-2 district only.

Three areas of the city are zoned I-2 - the northern part of the
Industrial Park, the southern edge of the city along I-96 and the
northwest part of the city along West Grand River Avenue. The version
endorsed by the Planning Commission called for dispensaries to be
located at least 500 feet away from each other.

But the council wanted to increase that distance to 1,000 feet.

"The idea is to provide a reasonable amount of diversity to the I-2
zone," City Manager Tim Allard said.

"Extending the distance from one dispensary to another would
accomplish that." The current version of the draft says only one
primary caregiver could grow marijuana and serve patients from a
single location.

The council's changes have been incorporated into the draft ordinance
available for public review at City Hall, Allard said.

The proposed amendment says dispensaries can be open from 8 a.m. to 8
p.m. and that patients may not consume marijuana at a dispensary.

Caregiver operations will need federal and state health safety
certifications, along with the usual local business permits.

Caregivers also would have to submit a security plan and a floor plan
specifying the number of plants. The security plan would be kept
confidential by the city.

Barring any major problems or delays, the council could be ready to
approve a first reading of the new ordinance by its Feb. 28 meeting,
with final approval on March 14.

Under that timeline, the ordinance would take effect on April 1.