1st marijuana dispensary could come to western Washtenaw County

MANCHESTER, MI – A man arrived at village hall in Manchester, a small community nestled among farmland in rural western Washtenaw County, last summer with a petition with about 100 signatures on it.

The petition would have brought the question of allowing marijuana businesses, then prohibited in the village, to voters.

“It was out of the blue. We were shocked,” said Village President Patricia Vailliencourt.

The petition was ultimately withdrawn before the election, but months later Manchester is officially open to business for certain kinds of marijuana establishments, including retail dispensaries, after elected officials approved local regulations in December.

“We’re pretty much at the point where it is open for a developer if he desires to come to Manchester,” Vailliencourt said.

That’s in part due to the efforts of Sam Pernick, one of the owners of Blue Sky Cannabis Co., and the man who initially approached the village with the petition, hoping to develop a retail dispensary there.

After a meeting between the marijuana entrepreneur and village officials, as well as attorneys for both sides, Pernick agreed to withdraw the petition and let the village draft its own rules governing cannabis businesses, exercising more control over the process, Vailliencourt said.

Manchester isn’t alone in taking its time before welcoming the cannabis industry, watching marijuana development play out for early adopters like Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. But that didn’t mean officials were against the idea.

Read more: Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor getting most marijuana tax dollars in Michigan

“It was very informative to us because we had thought because they hadn’t opted in that meant they were opposed, but it turned out that wasn’t the case,” Pernick said.

Blue Sky Cannabis, which has operated another marijuana retail location in Belleville for about three and a half months, isn’t deterred by Manchester’s small size. It boasts a population of roughly 2,000 people.

“Manchester is more rural, but we think rural is great too. There’s certainly a lot of interest in cannabis all across the state regardless of where somebody lives,” Pernick said. “We think the map (around Manchester) is kind of empty there in terms of communities that have opted in.”

He’s not wrong. A map of recreational and medical marijuana facilities maintained by state regulators puts Manchester smack dab in the middle of a gap in dispensaries between Ann Arbor, Jackson and Adrian.

Blue Sky still has to submit its application for a local marijuana permit and go through the site plan process for the new building it hopes to erect in the southeastern corner of the village.

But it’s also got the only property in the village where officials have currently elected to permit marijuana development under contract, according to Pernick and village documents.

The regulations, approved by a 5-1 vote of Manchester Village Council on Dec. 19 after passing through the village planning commission and public hearings, establish a zoning “overlay district” on the vacant industrially-zoned land at the corner of Hogan and Sooten roads, permitting certain kinds of marijuana establishments.

There, medical and recreational cannabis retail locations are permitted, as well as safety compliance facilities, testing labs for marijuana products, according to the ordinance establishing the district.

“We were very concerned about our downtown, we didn’t want Main Street opened up to a lot of marijuana businesses,” Vailliencourt said.

The local regulations — which also place odor control restrictions, require security cameras and limit hours of operation to between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. — restrict businesses to the overlay district near the southern village limit.

Officials heard little feedback when debating the rules, according to the village president.

“We’re a pretty quiet little community out here, so we thought maybe if there’s going to be a lot of concern that we would certainly hear about it but there hasn’t been, which is a pleasant surprise,” she said.

Pernick and Blue Sky were “excellent” to work with, Vailliencourt added.

The cannabis developer said Blue Sky still must secure various approvals, including for a site plan, which will require utility installation on the now-vacant property at 789 Hogan Road, just off M-52.

Officials also just approved the format of its local marijuana license application and set a $5,000 application fee on Tuesday, Jan. 3, according to Vailliencourt. The village hasn’t yet received any applications, she said.

Blue Sky is aiming to open its dispensary by late summer of this year, Pernick said.

“Manchester is a great community. The Manchester area is a terrific, terrific area. Wonderful place, wonderful people,” he said. “It’s a very forward looking community because cannabis is here to stay. It’s not going away. I think over time more communities will recognize there is an economic development opportunity.”

“We’re going to be working diligently and making sure that we’re following all the rules to be a good community partner,” Pernick added.

More from The Ann Arbor News:

Milan joins the ranks of marijuana-friendly cities with approval of local regulations

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