By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
Marijuana continues to be a hot topic in communities across Berrien County. While some communities are still deciding which businesses they will allow to open adult use marijuana facilities, others are debating how to spend the revenue they’ve received so far from marijuana establishments in their jurisdictions.
Three Oaks Village Council members are among those still grappling with what adult use marijuana businesses will look like in their village. Voters approved a referendum last November to allow adult use or recreational marijuana businesses in the village and council members and other officials have worked on the issue since then.
The village’s ordinance initially allowed for one marijuana retailer, one marijuana microbusiness, two marijuana growers, two marijuana processors, one marijuana safety compliance facility and one marijuana secure transporter. Businesses applying for a municipal license to operate will pay 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. In March, council members agreed to accept applications between July 19 and July 29.
Village Manager Dan Faulkner said at the time that this time period was selected because it would take time for prospective businesses to get the special land use approvals they need to have before applying.
In the intervening months, the village’s planning commission has met a number of times to hear and vote on special land use requests from prospective businesses.
Council members have also continued their efforts, including expanding the number of adult use marijuana businesses they will allow. That action came at the council’s monthly meeting in June, where council members increased the number of retailers they will allow from one to two.
Faulkner said last week that the special land use permitting process has been going well. “We have approved seven applications and will have two more to look at next month (July),” he said.
Planning commissioners are considering 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.
Once the planning commission has done their part in considering special land use permit applications and granting zoning approval, the decision on which applications to accept and issue a license to will be up to the council.
While special land use permit and site plan approval is necessary to apply, it does not guarantee the issuance of a municipal license, Faulkner said. After the close of the application period, the applications will be reviewed by the village clerk for completeness before being submitted for approval from the village council.
The final step of the process will take place in a public meeting when council members will review the applications and then issue conditional licenses to the chosen applicants. A one-year municipal license will be granted upon proof of applicants getting all their required state licenses.
Matthew Sulkowski of Fello Cannabis is one of the entities considering applying for a license in Three Oaks if a suitable property can be found.
His company already has a business operating in nearby Galien Township. Their grow and processing facility is located off U.S. 12 in the Galien Township Industrial Park.
Galien Township was one of the first municipalities in the county to allow medical marijuana businesses but officials there were hesitant to allow adult use marijuana facilities until recently. Sulkowski said that the township is now allowing adult use marijuana facilities with stipulations that there can’t be retail and it cannot be grown outside.
Just as it was one of the first municipalities to embrace medical marijuana, Galien Township is also one of a growing number to allow adult-use marijuana businesses. The primary reason appears to be municipalities wanting to get their share of state marijuana revenue.
Allowing an adult use business is now the only way municipalities can gain tax revenue from marijuana. The tax revenue expected to be gained from medical marijuana operations was eliminated after state voters approved recreational marijuana in 2018.
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.
The city of Buchanan is currently looking at how to spend the money they’ve received so far not only from the state marijuana revenue but also the federal stimulus funds coming to the city.
Buchanan City Commissioners are being asked to consider using the extra revenue the city is getting to promote a number of community development efforts. Final action on the new budget that includes some of the proposed projects is expected at the commission’s June 28 meeting. The city’s new fiscal year budget starts July 1.
Community Development Director Richard Murphy is proposing to set aside funds for items such as economic development incentives, marketing, implementing Andrews University recommendations, Mill Alley improvements and other initiatives.
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