Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Lansing - Supporters and critics of Mayor Virg Bernero's proposed ordinance for home-based medical marijuana grow facilities will get their chance to sound off about it Thursday afternoon at City Hall.
City Council's three-member Committee on Public Safety is expected to review the matter at 3:30 p.m. Thursday on the 10th floor of City Hall. The committee is also expected to discuss a proposed ordinance for commercial establishments like provisioning centers - also known as dispensaries - and review any public complaints about them.
Bernero's proposed residential ordinance, made public last week, was moved at Monday night's council meeting to the public safety committee's agenda. The residential ordinance coincides with the committee's effort to eventually bring a proposed ordinance for commercial medical marijuana establishments to council for a vote.
The state's Michigan Medical Marihuana Act of 2008 requires marijuana plants for medical use to be kept in an "enclosed, locked facility" either inside or outside. An "enclosed, locked facility," according to the law, could be a closet or a room. If the plants are outside, the law allows them to be in a "stationary structure that is enclosed on all sides, except for the base, by chain-link fencing, wooden slats, or a similar material that prevents access by the general public."
If approved, the residential ordinance could require owners of homes to register with the city if they use more than 5,000 kilowatt hours of electricity - intermittent or continuous. Owners of homes who don't grow marijuana would also have to register with the city if they exceed the kilowatt limit.
East Lansing resident Chris Silva, 31, is a political and business consultant who supports the local medical marijuana industry and wants to see local ordinances help provide a framework for state-licensed caregivers, cardholding patients and business owners to follow. Silva is a licensed cardholder whose business, Progressive Voter Outreach, is located in downtown Lansing.
Silva wonders if city officials should have started crafting a proposed residential ordinance before they started the proposed commercial one. He agrees with Bernero's comments to the Lansing State Journal this month that home grow operations likely generate most of the public complaints - not commercial establishments.
"I like that the city is trying to do something constructive on this issue," Silva said of home-based grow operations. "I personally think this is where they should have started."
Silva plans to attend Thursday's public safety meeting and knows both the proposed residential and commercial ordinances could undergo several changes before they go to City Council for a vote.
At-Large Council Member Carol Wood, the public safety committee's chair, is hopeful that approval of both will occur in a few months. At-Large Council Member Kathie Dunbar and Third Ward Member Adam Hussain also are on the committee.
Council has two meetings left this year: Nov. 28 and Dec. 12. If the public safety committee finishes its review of the residential ordinance on Thursday, and it doesn't include zoning regulations, the entire council could set a public hearing for Nov. 28. After a public hearing, the residential ordinance could get approved on Dec. 12.
"Do I think it will necessarily go that fast?" Wood said Tuesday. "No, but there's that potential out there." Wood said the residential ordinance Bernero made public last week appears to be the same or at least similar to one the City Attorney's Office began working on in July.
If the residential ordinance includes zoning regulations, it would likely slow up the process. The city's Planning Board would review the ordinance and then send it back to the public safety committee before the full council votes on it.
The planning board's final meeting of the year is Dec. 6. The 6:30 p.m. meeting will be held at the Neighborhood Empowerment Center, 600 W. Maple St. It will be open to the public. The planning board's agenda is expected to be full that day because it currently has the city's proposed ordinance for commercial medical marijuana establishments in its hands.
Wood said she wants to know more details from the City Attorney's Office about the proposed residential ordinance, including the reason behind a registration requirement for homes that generate over 5,000 kilowatt hours.
"I'm not an expert on electricity," Wood said.
The Lansing Board of Water & Light would most likely work with the city to help enforce a residential ordinance for home-grown medical marijuana operations. Dick Peffley, the city-owned utility's general manager, told the LSJ last week the average Lansing house in BWL's service territory uses about 552 kilowatt hours. A "very high" bill for the average home, according to Peffley, is 2,500 to 3,500 kilowatt hours.
BWL has about 97,000 customers, and about 83,000 are residential customers within the Greater Lansing area.
Peffley said city and BWL officials could create a system that tracks homes that use over 5,000 kilowatt hours, and would be able to do it quickly.
The proposed residential ordinance, if approved, would require a marijuana grower in a home to correct any hazardous conditions within a time period specified by the city. Failure to comply could result in a civil infraction, penalties or fines.
A grower would also have to comply with the city's public nuisance ordinance. The city could deem a grow operation in a home as a public nuisance because of odor, smoke, fumes or gasses.
Commercial medical marijuana establishments, like provisioning centers, are currently left to operate at their own peril in Lansing and aren't licensed. Wood estimated this month there are more than 70 commercial establishments that operate in the city. City officials had struggled over the years to craft an ordinance that will regulate commercial marijuana establishments and enacted a moratorium on the opening of new establishments on May 21.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana Growing In Homes Gets Public Spotlight
Author: Eric Lacy
Contact: 1-517-377-1000
Photo Credit: Associated Press
Website: Lansing State Journal
City Council's three-member Committee on Public Safety is expected to review the matter at 3:30 p.m. Thursday on the 10th floor of City Hall. The committee is also expected to discuss a proposed ordinance for commercial establishments like provisioning centers - also known as dispensaries - and review any public complaints about them.
Bernero's proposed residential ordinance, made public last week, was moved at Monday night's council meeting to the public safety committee's agenda. The residential ordinance coincides with the committee's effort to eventually bring a proposed ordinance for commercial medical marijuana establishments to council for a vote.
The state's Michigan Medical Marihuana Act of 2008 requires marijuana plants for medical use to be kept in an "enclosed, locked facility" either inside or outside. An "enclosed, locked facility," according to the law, could be a closet or a room. If the plants are outside, the law allows them to be in a "stationary structure that is enclosed on all sides, except for the base, by chain-link fencing, wooden slats, or a similar material that prevents access by the general public."
If approved, the residential ordinance could require owners of homes to register with the city if they use more than 5,000 kilowatt hours of electricity - intermittent or continuous. Owners of homes who don't grow marijuana would also have to register with the city if they exceed the kilowatt limit.
East Lansing resident Chris Silva, 31, is a political and business consultant who supports the local medical marijuana industry and wants to see local ordinances help provide a framework for state-licensed caregivers, cardholding patients and business owners to follow. Silva is a licensed cardholder whose business, Progressive Voter Outreach, is located in downtown Lansing.
Silva wonders if city officials should have started crafting a proposed residential ordinance before they started the proposed commercial one. He agrees with Bernero's comments to the Lansing State Journal this month that home grow operations likely generate most of the public complaints - not commercial establishments.
"I like that the city is trying to do something constructive on this issue," Silva said of home-based grow operations. "I personally think this is where they should have started."
Silva plans to attend Thursday's public safety meeting and knows both the proposed residential and commercial ordinances could undergo several changes before they go to City Council for a vote.
At-Large Council Member Carol Wood, the public safety committee's chair, is hopeful that approval of both will occur in a few months. At-Large Council Member Kathie Dunbar and Third Ward Member Adam Hussain also are on the committee.
Council has two meetings left this year: Nov. 28 and Dec. 12. If the public safety committee finishes its review of the residential ordinance on Thursday, and it doesn't include zoning regulations, the entire council could set a public hearing for Nov. 28. After a public hearing, the residential ordinance could get approved on Dec. 12.
"Do I think it will necessarily go that fast?" Wood said Tuesday. "No, but there's that potential out there." Wood said the residential ordinance Bernero made public last week appears to be the same or at least similar to one the City Attorney's Office began working on in July.
If the residential ordinance includes zoning regulations, it would likely slow up the process. The city's Planning Board would review the ordinance and then send it back to the public safety committee before the full council votes on it.
The planning board's final meeting of the year is Dec. 6. The 6:30 p.m. meeting will be held at the Neighborhood Empowerment Center, 600 W. Maple St. It will be open to the public. The planning board's agenda is expected to be full that day because it currently has the city's proposed ordinance for commercial medical marijuana establishments in its hands.
Wood said she wants to know more details from the City Attorney's Office about the proposed residential ordinance, including the reason behind a registration requirement for homes that generate over 5,000 kilowatt hours.
"I'm not an expert on electricity," Wood said.
The Lansing Board of Water & Light would most likely work with the city to help enforce a residential ordinance for home-grown medical marijuana operations. Dick Peffley, the city-owned utility's general manager, told the LSJ last week the average Lansing house in BWL's service territory uses about 552 kilowatt hours. A "very high" bill for the average home, according to Peffley, is 2,500 to 3,500 kilowatt hours.
BWL has about 97,000 customers, and about 83,000 are residential customers within the Greater Lansing area.
Peffley said city and BWL officials could create a system that tracks homes that use over 5,000 kilowatt hours, and would be able to do it quickly.
The proposed residential ordinance, if approved, would require a marijuana grower in a home to correct any hazardous conditions within a time period specified by the city. Failure to comply could result in a civil infraction, penalties or fines.
A grower would also have to comply with the city's public nuisance ordinance. The city could deem a grow operation in a home as a public nuisance because of odor, smoke, fumes or gasses.
Commercial medical marijuana establishments, like provisioning centers, are currently left to operate at their own peril in Lansing and aren't licensed. Wood estimated this month there are more than 70 commercial establishments that operate in the city. City officials had struggled over the years to craft an ordinance that will regulate commercial marijuana establishments and enacted a moratorium on the opening of new establishments on May 21.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana Growing In Homes Gets Public Spotlight
Author: Eric Lacy
Contact: 1-517-377-1000
Photo Credit: Associated Press
Website: Lansing State Journal
