10 MARIJUANA BASED BUSINESSES WILL APPLY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE LOCATIONS WITHIN THE VILLAGE OF THREE OAKS

By DEBRA HAIGHT

THREE OAKS – Three Oaks Village Council members are moving into the home stretch when it comes to deciding which marijuana businesses they want to see open in the village.

Council members will meet Oct. 19 and 20 in the upper floor of Froehlich’s Event Center in downtown Three Oaks to hear presentations from 10 applicants. Froehlich’s is located next door to the Village Hall at 19 N. Elm Street. Each night’s meeting will start at 6:30 p.m.

The council will hold a third meeting in October on Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m. to award the village licenses to the selected businesses. The village will likely be awarding grow/processing and retail licenses at that meeting.

Village Clerk Cindi Moynihan reported that most applicants have applied for just one license although two companies have applied for multiple licenses. She said there are 10 applicants for the two retail licenses available as well as two applicants for the two grow/processing licenses available.

Companies making applications include Farnan Farms which have submitted three applications, Bloom Operations LLC which has put in one application, Exclusive Healing Inc. with one application, Green Koi with one application and HH Three Oaks LLC doing business as Sunset Coast Provisions with one application.

Also applying are 3Oaks Craft Dispensary with three applications, High Profile/QPS Michigan Holdings with one application, Lume with one application, Mellow Valley with one application and Oak Flint LLC with one application.

All the applicants are applying for licenses to operate businesses along the U.S. 12 corridor in the industrial and commercial districts. No marijuana businesses are being allowed in the “downtown” area of North and South Elm Streets.

Moynihan said all the applicants have previously been approved for special land use permits which was handled by the village planning commission earlier this summer. “That was the first step in the process before they were even eligible to apply for a license,” she said.

Residents voted last November to allow a limited number of recreational marijuana businesses in the village. Village officials have worked since then to decide the specifics of what they want to see open plus the process to guide their decision making.

The village’s ordinance allows for three grow licenses in each of three categories: 100 plants, 1,000 plants and 2,000 plants. It also allows for two marijuana retail businesses, one marijuana microbusiness, two marijuana processors, one marijuana compliance facility and one marijuana secure transporter.

Businesses applying for a municipal license to operate have paid a non refundable $5,000 application fee.

Village officials have worked over the months to decide the specifics of what they want to see open plus the process to guide their decision making. They decided earlier that marijuana businesses will be allowed in commercial and industrial zoning districts. Council members also agreed to accept applications between July 19 and July 29.

In the special land use permit process, planning commissioners considered a variety of factors with the applications including compliance with zoning ordinance criteria, approval from the village planning, engineering, fire and police departments and the submission of specific site plans.

Recreational marijuana businesses have already opened in other parts of Berrien County, from Benton Harbor on the north to Niles and Buchanan on the south. Other municipalities such as Eau Claire and Galien Township have allowed medical marijuana businesses, with Eau Claire also opening the door for one recreational marijuana business.

Communities that embraced recreational marijuana businesses early on have already reaped some of the benefits of doing so.

In March, the Michigan Department of Treasury announced the distribution of nearly $10 million from adult use marijuana revenue to more than 100 municipalities and counties in the state. Municipalities and counties received payments from the Marihuana Regulation Fund for every licensed retail store and microbusiness within their jurisdictions.

The report indicated that Berrien County received $140,000 for revenue collected in the 2020 fiscal year and the municipalities of Buchanan and Niles receiving $84,000 and $56,000 respectively.