CHARLEVOIX CITY COUNCIL DELAYS DECISION ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA ORDINANCE

The Charlevoix City Council on Monday decided to postpone a decision
on enacting an amendment to the city's zoning ordinance that would
regulate medical marijuana production in the city.

For many months city officials have been working on the ordinance,
which, in the form it was presented at Monday's regular semi-monthly
meeting, would limit the properties where people authorized as
caregivers under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act may grow and
provide marijuana to their certified patients.

The ordinance would restrict caregiver grow operations to only
residential areas and outside of buffer zones around parks, beaches,
schools, churches, day care facilities and other medical marijuana
caregiver operation locations.

The ordinance would have no effect on the rights of certified medical
marijuana patients to grow their own plants in their homes.

During a public hearing near the beginning of Monday's meeting
several people, many of them who identified themselves as certified
medical marijuana patients, spoke out against the proposed ordinance
- - many saying it is too restrictive.

The council, at least to some degree, appeared to agree, with several
members expressing interest in perhaps shrinking some of the buffer zones.

Of particular interest was discussion about what, if any buffer zones
there should be between care provider locations and around day care
facilities. Currently the draft ordinance proposes 500 feet for both.

The council voted unanimously (with council member Dennis Kusina
absent) to postpone its decision on the matter and directed city
planning director Mike Spencer to do some further research and come
back to the council at its next regular meeting on Feb. 6 with
options for the council to consider. The plan is to re-introduce the
revised ordinance at the Feb. 6 meeting and then having another
public hearing on it either on Feb. 20 or March 5.