Jason McCarthy, planner, Marquette Township

MARQUETTE — The license application fee schedule for recreational and medical marijuana facilities was approved during the Feb. 2 Marquette Charter Township Board meeting.

A $5,000 non-refundable fee per license application, with subsequent renewal applications set at $2,500, was approved by the township board of trustees.

Marquette Township Planner and Zoning Administrator Jason McCarthy outlined the reasons for the prices of the proposed fees.

“There is a lot more involved because they are all conditional uses, neighbor notifications similar to other special uses,” he said. “Certainly (it takes) an extra amount of administrative work to conduct these.”

Applicants can file at the zoning administrator’s office at the Marquette Township Hall. Applicants are also encouraged to obtain the pre-qualification status from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs before applying. This LARA pre-qualification status will help expedite the zoning administrator’s process with those applicants, officials said.

According to the Marquette Township Medical Marijuana and Adult Use Marijuana Establishments Licensing and Regulatory Ordinance, there will be a maximum of 18 marijuana business licenses granted in the township.

The ordinance allows licenses in the township for:

≤ two growers

≤ two processors

≤ two secure transporters

≤ four provisioning center/marijuana retailers

≤ two safety compliance facilities

≤ three marijuana micro-businesses

≤ one marijuana event organizer.

No temporary marijuana event permits or designated consumption establishments will be permitted under the ordinance.

The approval of the license application fee schedule is one of the final steps in the process of opening applications for the businesses.

Submitting a marijuana facility license application to the township is just one step in the larger process a business needs to go through before opening, officials said.

For more information on the application and marijuana businesses in Marquette Township, visit https://marquettetownship.org.

Katie Segula can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 242. Her email address is ksegula@miningjournal.net.