Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Madison Township now has a zoning classification for placing medical marijuana facilities. It also is starting to define how those facilities will be regulated.
At a special meeting Friday, the Madison Township Board voted 6-1 to approve a medical marijuana facilities overlay district for its zoning ordinance. It also heard the first reading of a proposed medical marijuana facilities ordinance.
The main change the board accepted in the overlay district is allowing it to be used on properties that are zoned I-1 and I-2, which are for industrial uses. The draft of the ordinance at its first reading had the overlay being applicable only in I-1, which is for light industry.
Township attorney Fred Lucas recommended adding I-2, which is for general industry, to the ordinance because of questions about whether the property where the overlay is likely to be applied, the former Hydro Aluminum plant site on East Maumee Street, is zoned I-1 or I-2.
"That way we don't have to worry about if this is I-1 or I-2," Lucas said. "We'll have it covered."
The township owns the former Hydro property and has had it on the market for a few years. Medical marijuana companies have expressed an interest in it, including a local investment group, Elite Synchrony Investments, which has offered $700,000 for the land. The township has had it listed for $294,000.
Trustee Matt Carpenter was the lone "no" vote. He said he is concerned about the potential for medical marijuana facilities to be allowed in land zoned for agricultural uses.
"This was the first step to allow medical marijuana into the township," he said after the meeting. "I wanted to say no."
During the meeting, Lucas said he would recommend against allowing the facilities in agricultural zoning.
"My problem is policing," he said. "I have one here, one there, one over there – how do you police it?"
He said keeping it in a small area makes it easy to control.
Janet Moden, a township resident and employee, asked about how creating this district to be applied to township property would look to individual property owners who might be interested in having the overlay applied to their properties.
"If this was one person benefitting, I'd feel differently," Lucas said.
Instead, he said, the township was doing this to provide additional property tax and licensing revenues to the township along with the sale price, which would be beneficial to the entire community.
"We're doing this for the benefit of the community," township clerk Terry Etter said.
"Any farmer can put an offer on the property," township Supervisor Gary Griewahn said.
Answering a question from Carpenter, Lucas said if a commercial use were proposed for a property that had the overlay, the overlay district could be amended to allow it rather than change the underlying zoning from industry to commercial.
The overlay district sets the minimum lot size at one acre; says all activities and materials related to medical marijuana must be enclosed within a secure building or structure; defines buffer zones between the facilities and schools, child care centers, playgrounds, public recreation areas, libraries, churches and residentially zoned areas; requires a minimum 8-foot security fence topped by barbed or razor wire; and requires screening of the property through landscaping, fencing or walls, among several regulations.
The facilities ordinance would establish the types of medical marijuana facilities that would be allowed and restrictions placed on them as allowed by the state's medical marijuana licensing act. It does not define where the facilities would be placed.
The ordinance allows medical marijuana growers, processors, provisioning centers, safety compliance facilities and secure transporters.
Among the regulations are descriptions of how odors would be controlled. The ordinance calls for air leaving the facility to pass through a filtration system that uses activated carbon and defines the number of fans for the size of the building.
It also allows for the permit applicant to use an alternative odor control system provided a licensed mechanical engineer says it will work as well or better than an activated-carbon system. It allows the township to hire an outside expert to review the alternate system's design. The board added that the cost of that outside expert would be covered by the permit applicant.
The board discussed whether to include lighting restrictions. Lucas based the draft off a recommended ordinance from the Michigan State University Extension and said, given where the facilities are likely to be in the township, that lighting restrictions may not be necessary.
Treasurer Harold Gregg noted that the Gus Harrison Correctional Facility, which is near the Hydro property, already is well lit at night. Trustee Howard Bales said the property will have exterior security lighting and the growers won't want any interior grow lights to have that light lost to the outside.
Lucas said he would talk to a grower about lighting before bringing the ordinance back for its second reading.
The board also discussed the logistics of managing the permits. The draft ordinance calls for applicants to pay $5,000 annually but does not define when that year would begin. Etter said not having a set year would create "a lot of extra bookkeeping" for whoever the clerk is to keep track of when each permit would need to be renewed.
Carpenter and Bales suggested using the township's Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 fiscal calendar. Bales suggested cutting the fee to $2,500 if someone applies after June 30. Lucas said the ordinance could be worded to have the initial permit expire on Dec. 31 and have any renewals begin on Jan. 1.
The board did not set a date for a second reading of the facilities ordinance.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Madison board adopts medical marijuana facilities zoning - News - The Daily Telegram - Adrian, MI - Adrian, MI
Author: David Panian
Contact: Contact - Adrian, MI - The Daily Telegram - Adrian, MI
Photo Credit: Associated Press
Website: The Daily Telegram - Adrian, MI: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Adrian, MI
At a special meeting Friday, the Madison Township Board voted 6-1 to approve a medical marijuana facilities overlay district for its zoning ordinance. It also heard the first reading of a proposed medical marijuana facilities ordinance.
The main change the board accepted in the overlay district is allowing it to be used on properties that are zoned I-1 and I-2, which are for industrial uses. The draft of the ordinance at its first reading had the overlay being applicable only in I-1, which is for light industry.
Township attorney Fred Lucas recommended adding I-2, which is for general industry, to the ordinance because of questions about whether the property where the overlay is likely to be applied, the former Hydro Aluminum plant site on East Maumee Street, is zoned I-1 or I-2.
"That way we don't have to worry about if this is I-1 or I-2," Lucas said. "We'll have it covered."
The township owns the former Hydro property and has had it on the market for a few years. Medical marijuana companies have expressed an interest in it, including a local investment group, Elite Synchrony Investments, which has offered $700,000 for the land. The township has had it listed for $294,000.
Trustee Matt Carpenter was the lone "no" vote. He said he is concerned about the potential for medical marijuana facilities to be allowed in land zoned for agricultural uses.
"This was the first step to allow medical marijuana into the township," he said after the meeting. "I wanted to say no."
During the meeting, Lucas said he would recommend against allowing the facilities in agricultural zoning.
"My problem is policing," he said. "I have one here, one there, one over there – how do you police it?"
He said keeping it in a small area makes it easy to control.
Janet Moden, a township resident and employee, asked about how creating this district to be applied to township property would look to individual property owners who might be interested in having the overlay applied to their properties.
"If this was one person benefitting, I'd feel differently," Lucas said.
Instead, he said, the township was doing this to provide additional property tax and licensing revenues to the township along with the sale price, which would be beneficial to the entire community.
"We're doing this for the benefit of the community," township clerk Terry Etter said.
"Any farmer can put an offer on the property," township Supervisor Gary Griewahn said.
Answering a question from Carpenter, Lucas said if a commercial use were proposed for a property that had the overlay, the overlay district could be amended to allow it rather than change the underlying zoning from industry to commercial.
The overlay district sets the minimum lot size at one acre; says all activities and materials related to medical marijuana must be enclosed within a secure building or structure; defines buffer zones between the facilities and schools, child care centers, playgrounds, public recreation areas, libraries, churches and residentially zoned areas; requires a minimum 8-foot security fence topped by barbed or razor wire; and requires screening of the property through landscaping, fencing or walls, among several regulations.
The facilities ordinance would establish the types of medical marijuana facilities that would be allowed and restrictions placed on them as allowed by the state's medical marijuana licensing act. It does not define where the facilities would be placed.
The ordinance allows medical marijuana growers, processors, provisioning centers, safety compliance facilities and secure transporters.
Among the regulations are descriptions of how odors would be controlled. The ordinance calls for air leaving the facility to pass through a filtration system that uses activated carbon and defines the number of fans for the size of the building.
It also allows for the permit applicant to use an alternative odor control system provided a licensed mechanical engineer says it will work as well or better than an activated-carbon system. It allows the township to hire an outside expert to review the alternate system's design. The board added that the cost of that outside expert would be covered by the permit applicant.
The board discussed whether to include lighting restrictions. Lucas based the draft off a recommended ordinance from the Michigan State University Extension and said, given where the facilities are likely to be in the township, that lighting restrictions may not be necessary.
Treasurer Harold Gregg noted that the Gus Harrison Correctional Facility, which is near the Hydro property, already is well lit at night. Trustee Howard Bales said the property will have exterior security lighting and the growers won't want any interior grow lights to have that light lost to the outside.
Lucas said he would talk to a grower about lighting before bringing the ordinance back for its second reading.
The board also discussed the logistics of managing the permits. The draft ordinance calls for applicants to pay $5,000 annually but does not define when that year would begin. Etter said not having a set year would create "a lot of extra bookkeeping" for whoever the clerk is to keep track of when each permit would need to be renewed.
Carpenter and Bales suggested using the township's Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 fiscal calendar. Bales suggested cutting the fee to $2,500 if someone applies after June 30. Lucas said the ordinance could be worded to have the initial permit expire on Dec. 31 and have any renewals begin on Jan. 1.
The board did not set a date for a second reading of the facilities ordinance.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Madison board adopts medical marijuana facilities zoning - News - The Daily Telegram - Adrian, MI - Adrian, MI
Author: David Panian
Contact: Contact - Adrian, MI - The Daily Telegram - Adrian, MI
Photo Credit: Associated Press
Website: The Daily Telegram - Adrian, MI: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Adrian, MI
