PETOSKEY — Petoskey planners have now approved the three permitted medical marijuana provisioning centers allowed within city limits.
But they’re trying to keep a lucid frame of mind in asserting that none of those provisioning centers would necessarily meet the requirements for approval as recreational dispensaries, should such establishments ever become legal in the city.
Indeed, Petoskey is currently opted out of recreational establishments, so there’s no local ordinance in the book indicating what zoning conditions a site would need to meet to facilitate one. But, some members of the planning commission are already raising a cautious eye to the possibility of a ballot issue or piece of legislation that could force their hand into allowing them in the future.
In such a circumstance, some, such as planning commissioner Ted Pall, said the city should be ready with clear restrictions in place.
Planning commissioners Thursday unanimously approved a “special condition use” permit for a medical marijuana provisioning center at 403 W. Mitchell St., the site currently occupied by Scooby’s Bottle Shop liquor store.
The commissioners were careful, though, to stipulate that the decision should not be taken to imply the site would be well-suited for recreational distribution, citing, in particular, parking and traffic concerns which could be exacerbated if the customer base widened.
“I think the concern has been that there could be these situations where voters or legislators change rules and tell cities, ‘You have to allow something,’ and that’s the discussion I’ve heard,” Pall said. And then potentially, we don’t know what form of a thing could pass, whether it’s an initiative or referendum, a voter thing, or it’s a legislative thing, but we don’t know what that language would be. … It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have something on the books or some kind of a plan.”
Petoskey’s medical marijuana ordinance allows for three medical marijuana retailers within select zones of the city, mostly along the U.S. 31 and 131 corridors on the southwest side of the city. The planning commission already granted special condition use permits to two prior applicants — at 215 W. Mitchell St. and 1111 Charlevoix Ave. Planning commissioners were in general agreement Thursday that none of those sites seem well suited for recreational marijuana.
Petoskey arrived at that ordinance after much polarization. At the recommendation of Petoskey City Council, the planning commission took the lead on researching, discussing and drafting the proposed ordinance — a process which took several months. After city council members approved it in late 2019, opponents filed a ballot issue seeking to strike it down, but their efforts were unsuccessful at the polls.
One major point of concern raised by critics was the possibility that a future policy might automatically allow those establishments to transition to selling recreational marijuana, without sufficient input or approval from local officials or voters.
Ultimately, local governments still have full authority over how they conduct their permitting processes, zoning requirements, and allowance of any marijuana establishment. But, past statements from the state office of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs have suggested that businesses already operating with medical marijuana licenses could be better positioned to receive state approval for recreational licenses.
And, an attempt at a local ballot issue legalizing recreational marijuana was already made in 2020. It never made it to the polls because of a technical error on its filing paperwork, which was uncovered in a lawsuit. Neither the group who proposed the ballot issue, nor the group that opposed it, have been confirmed to have any local ties.
The sale of alcohol at the Scooby’s site would cease completely after it transitions to a marijuana dispensary. The city’s marijuana ordinance prohibits a dispensary from opening up in the same building as an establishment that sells alcohol.
The business would include some local ownership — key among the applicants is Julie Wentworth, of Bay Harbor, who owns two medical and recreational dispensaries under the name “Rize U.P.” The Petoskey shop would join the established locations in Marquette and Iron Mountain under that same name, establishing a small regional chain.
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