NILES BACKPEDALS ON MARIJUANA APPROVALS

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
NILES, MI – Recreational marijuana remains a contentious issue in Niles Township. A year after residents voted to allow marijuana dispensaries to operate in the township, they will again be asked to vote on two marijuana proposals on the upcoming November ballot.
In the year since voters approved allowing marijuana businesses in the township, Niles Township Board members have set down the rules to govern such businesses, opened applications, and accepted nearly 30 license proposals.
The township’s rules included allowing marijuana businesses on the 1.5 mile stretch of South 11th Street from Fulkerson Road to the state line in the southern part of the township. The township’s venture into the marijuana business has already resulted in a number of longtime businesses such as Hacker’s Golf and Joey Armadillo being sold.
Last week, Niles Township Board members voted to place two petition-driven proposals on the Nov. 4 ballot to decide the fate of marijuana businesses in the township. It will be the third time in five years that the marijuana issue will be on the ballot
Voters rejected allowing marijuana businesses in the township in 2020, only to approve them in another vote last November. Township board members have worked this year to first develop a zoning amendment to handle marijuana business requests and then to issue 30 licenses.
Last week’s vote came without Treasurer Jim Ringler voting. Ringler recused himself from the vote to avoid any potential conflict of interest as he is a real estate broker in the township.
Township Supervisor Marge Durm-Hiatt said the township’s hands are tied in the matter, as the township was ordered by Berrien County Trial Court Judge Donna Howard to accept the petitions. She said the township could not remove signatures of people who said they had been tricked to sign petitions or changed their mind.
The new proposals on the Nov. 4 ballot asks voters whether the zoning amendment adopted earlier this year should be repealed and whether adult use marijuana businesses should be totally outlawed in the township. So far, no marijuana business has opened although licenses have been issued.
The ballot proposals come from two petition drives this summer, one calling for a referendum vote on the zoning amendment and the other a straight petition drive. Over 800 people signed the referendum petition about repealing the zoning amendment and another 280 signed the petition on prohibiting any marijuana business.
Judge Howard is expected to make another ruling after a court hearing on whether the township has to stop all action processing licensees’ special use permit requests until after the November votes.
Nearly 50 people attended last week’s special board meeting. While several spoke out against allowing any marijuana business in the township, others questioned how the petition/referendum drives were conducted. A big bone of contention for most in attendance was the high number of licenses the township is allowing.
Durm-Hiatt defended the decision to issue 29 licenses, saying that the township attorney told them they shouldn’t limit the number of licenses as it could open the township up to lawsuits. Residents didn’t agree, saying they could have set a smaller number of licenses and have a lottery to choose, which would get a license.
The referendum/petition effort itself drew criticism. Residents noted that it was not citizen driven but orchestrated by a marijuana business inside the city of Niles who they said were afraid of competition. They said most of the people signing the petitions were not aware of that fact.
So far, the township has collected at least $145,000 in license fees from the 29 businesses planning to open in the township. If all of those businesses actually do open up, the township could reap over $1.6 million a year in state excise tax revenue. Durm-Hiatt said the township board has talked about spending much of that money on roads and parks.
She and other board members also took issue with the whole referendum/petition process. They said theoretically petitions and referendums could force votes every year not only in Niles Township but in communities around the state on whether to allow marijuana businesses.
They added that the referendum/petition has created a lot of uncertainty for businesses that have already invested hundreds of thousands of dollars if not more. At least one resident agreed, pointing out that the marijuana businesses could create 300 to 400 jobs in the township.
A recent published article in the Detroit News reported on the rise and fall of marijuana businesses in the state. They blamed the legalization of marijuana in Ohio along with other factors such as an oversaturation with too many operators flooding the state. They reported that one of the large companies, TerrAscend, has announced they are leaving the state.
The article cited state statistics showing that both medical and recreational marijuana sales have fallen. They reported that total marijuana sales were $1.58 billion in the first six months, a number which was down $10.4 million or nearly one percent from the same period last year.