Attendees of Wednesday’s Marquette City Commission work session on a proposed ordinance to allow commercial recreational marijuana establishments in the city look on while Marquette Mayor Fred Stonehouse, center, and Mayor Pro Tem Sarah Reynolds, right, discuss the matter with the commission. While the commission in February tentatively opted out of allowing the establishments in advance of state regulations, the matter is back on the table with the issuance of emergency rules by the state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency. (Journal photo by Cecilia Brown)

MARQUETTE — While the city of Marquette passed an ordinance in February opting out of allowing commercial recreational marijuana establishments within city limits, the city is revisiting the issue now that the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency has issued emergency rules for establishment licensing.

At a work session Wednesday, the Marquette City Commission discussed a proposed draft ordinance that would allow the marijuana establishments in the city, as well as the numerous zoning and licensing issues associated with such an ordinance. Discussions on the types of establishments to be allowed are expected to continue at Monday’s regular commission meeting.

“We committed to move this process forward in February when we opted out,” Mayor Fred Stonehouse said. “And we said the reason we opted out is because we didn’t want interference from the state while we took the time to build our document, to build our ordinance. And we are well on the way to doing that. We’ve come up with a draft ordinance, we’ve laid out the time schematic for it. We’ve literally laid out the roadmap that we’re going to follow — or that we can follow if we’re going to fulfill that pledge that we made — and I think it’s extraordinarily important we do so before the November election. Because two of the members of this commission will be leaving in November and we will have two new ones; and if we started it, it’s our job to finish it.”

The Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act, which voters approved in the November election to legalize recreational use by anyone age 21 and older, gives each municipality the right to determine whether to allow or prohibit marijuana establishments within its boundaries.

Marquette and about 200 other municipalities chose to tentatively opt-out of allowing the establishments in advance of direction from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, which is responsible for establishing a bureau to handle recreational marijuana regulations and licenses by 2020.

However, LARA’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency issued emergency administrative rules July 3 to implement the new act. Those will be effective through early January and allow licensing applications to be accepted starting Nov. 1, and the rules provide municipalities and prospective licensees with details on licensing, labeling requirements, zoning and more.

At the meeting, Marquette City Attorney Ron Keefe presented the commission with the draft ordinance and a proposed timeline for the process, which would involve approving and developing the ordinance, as well as associated land development code amendments that would be needed.

If the ordinance is approved and the process goes as planned, these establishments could be allowed within city limits effective Dec. 26, Keefe said.

Those who wish to open such a facility would need to gain state and city licensing in a multi-step process that begins with pre-qualification by the state, he said.

Keefe also asked commissioners to consider the types and numbers of licenses that might be allowed in the city, as there are 11 different license types covering retail, micro-businesses, processing, consumption establishments, safety compliance, transport, events and grow operations.

A public hearing on the ordinance could be scheduled by the end of this month.

While the commission couldn’t take formal action Wednesday, commissioners also couldn’t reach a consensus on whether the number of establishments would be better dictated by zoning constraints and the market, or by restricting the number of licenses granted and expanding as needed.

“If we have too few, we can certainly increase, so I think flexibility could be built into this,” Stonehouse said, noting he believes it may be better to take a conservative approach to avoid potentially having more facilities than the city could support.

Alternately, Commissioner Jenna Smith said: “I’m of the opinion that we should let the market dictate. I don’t know if we need to set a limit.”

Mayor Pro Tem Sarah Reynolds agreed with Smith, and said due to zoning and state rules about placement of the establishments near schools and other facilities, she believes: “We’re only going to be able to have these in certain areas; just by looking at zoning alone, they’re not going to be everywhere.”

Commissioners also stated they wanted to take more time to hear from residents on the matter, as while 62% of Marquette residents voted in favor of legalization in November, public opinion on commercial establishments — particularly what types, how many and where — is less clear.

There were also discussions about the feasibility of growing operations within the city due to state zoning requirements and the atmosphere that marijuana retail stores might create in the city.

Many area residents spoke during public comment sessions about specific rules and regulations they’d like to see in the ordinance and the potential economic impact of the establishments.

While the majority of commenters stated support of the proposed ordinance or did not mention a specific stance, one resident expressed concerns about the impacts of marijuana and marijuana businesses in the city, citing potentials for youth accessing marijuana, impaired driving and substance abuse.

At the close of the session, several commenters expressed frustration with the way the issue has been handled by the city, citing concerns about the commission’s lack of consensus on issues at the work session. Residents also expressed concerns about the accessibility of the proposed ordinance and associated zoning map that shows potential locations for facilities, but city staff indicated these items would be made available online.

Visit marquettemi.gov for updates on the process. For more information on the state law, visit michigan.gov/marijuana.

Cecilia Brown can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 248. Her email address is cbrown@miningjournal.net.