Medical Marijuana and Berrien County: Many Municipalities embracing new businesses after over a year into the process

By DEBRA HAIGHT

BCR Correspondent

It’s been over a year and a half since area municipalities began considering allowing medical marijuana facilities in their jurisdictions. Since then, local governments have gone a variety of routes from saying no to having any medical marijuana facility to passing ordinances and approving plans to open up new businesses.

Galien Township is one of a number of area municipalities that have first passed their intent to allow such facilities and then approved new ordinances and regulations before considering specific proposals. Businesses must get both state and local approval before opening medical marijuana facilities.

Municipalities’ ability to allow such facilities is the result of a series of laws approved in 2016 expanding the types of medical marijuana facilities permitted and setting up a regulatory and licensing process similar to what is done for liquor licenses. Municipalities embracing medical marijuana have done so in large part because of the revenue they expect to get.

Galien Township is one of the first municipalities in the area to get through a first round of proposals and approve a moratorium on new applications. Township Board members voted last week to put in place a moratorium on accepting new applications.

Township Clerk Jennifer Richter reported that board members approved a six month moratorium on all applications at their regular monthly meeting last week. That action came after members approved three proposals at a special meeting May 9.

The township board voted in favor of opting in to the state medical marijuana facilities law last July after a number of public hearings before both the planning commission and township board. The board then approved a separate police powers ordinance and zoning ordinance amendment in February allowing for all but retail dispensary facilities.

The three proposals approved by the board were those submitted by Green Mitten for a growing and processing facility, by Exclusive Healing for a growing and processing facility and by Med Farm of Michigan for growing and processing facilities. In each case, the board approved a special use permit.

Green Mitten is proposing to build a facility at the corner of Nye Road and U.S. 12 on industrially zoned land. Exclusive Healing’s proposal is for a facility on industrially zoned land on Smith Road, while Med Farm of Michigan wants to open a facility in the 3800 block of U.S. 12 on land zoned for agriculture.

The three businesses will now have to go to the state to gain licensing approval.

The board’s actions came after the township planning commission held public hearings on seven requests throughout April and made their recommendations at an April 30 meeting. At that meeting, commissioners voted to recommend board approval on three of seven proposals.

Proposals turned down were from McCoy Creek Naturals for land on Adams Road, Jaide Forest Farms for land on Gardner Road, Southwest Michigan Cultivators for land also on Gardner Road and a second one from Exclusive Healing for land on Pardee Road.

The board’s May 9 meeting featured numerous comments from residents both in favor and opposed to having any medical marijuana facilities in the township. Petitions were submitted on both sides with 156 people signing petitions opposed to such facilities and 159 people signing petitions in favor.

For their part, board members spoke about all the time they’d spent researching the issue and the various applications. Board minutes of that meeting indicated that board members also spoke of the need for more revenue in the township given that three millages have been turned down since 2012.

Richter noted that the township code enforcer will be able to handle monitoring the new facilities. She asked residents to be more open minded about these businesses as well as any other new ventures that come to the township.

Other municipalities that have passed medical marijuana ordinances and considered proposals include the cities of Benton Harbor, Buchanan, Hartford and Niles. A number of proposals have already been approved in Buchanan and Niles as was the case in Galien Township. Also like Galien Township, Niles is considering a moratorium on accepting applications.