By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
Staff Writer
Ortonville—During the regular Monday night meeting, the village council approved a resolution with a 5-1 vote to adopt the Adult Use Marihuana Establishment Ordinance. Council member Pat George voted against the resolution, and council member Larry Hayden was absent with notice.
The ordinance was approved by voters in the Aug. 2 election by a narrow margin of five votes, and will replace the current village ordinance that prohibits recreational marijuana establishments. The ordinance did not go before planning commission first, as it cannot be changed for three years. But the planning commission will be involved going forward as to interpretation of certain terms that are not clear in the ordinance or are not currently defined in the village’s code or ordinances.
“There’s no need to get this in front of planning, it is what it is,” said Melanie Nivelt, council member. “They can’t recommend, they can’t change, there’s nothing they can do about it.”
The council also voted 5-1 to establish an annual fee of $5,000, or the maximum amount allowed by state law. The fee would be paid by applicants who apply to open an establishment, and would be paid by establishments annually. George voted against the motion. The ordinance permits up to two retail establishments in the village limits.
“Based on discussions with individuals, other municipals managers, the village attorney, the $5,000 fee seems to be favored for establishments to apply in the village of Ortonville,” said Ryan Madis, village manager. “The application process is dictated in the ordinance. It mostly falls on the village clerk to administer the scoring process and application.”
They also approved a land survey by Kieft Engineering to determine which properties within the village limits fit the requirements for a recreational marijuana establishment, as the ordinance states that any retail establishments within the village limits has to be on a road that sees 20,000 cars per day, be a stand-alone building, not adjoin a residential district, be a minimum of 850 feet from a k-12 school, 1,000 feet from a licensed childcare facility, 2,000 feet from a park and 500 feet from another marijuana establishment.
The ordinance was written by the group Ortonville Residents for Action, who petitioned to get it placed on the August ballot.
At the meeting, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Brandon substation commander Lt. Greg Glover voiced his concerns about the ordinance’s allowance for proximity to schools, especially with the possibility of establishments opening near the South Street and M-15 intersection.
“My concerns over it are one, the locations of the property because of the added congestion into that intersection, and my other issue is the proximity to the schools and the school age kids that walk by those locations,” said Glover. “I’ve received many calls about this, this isn’t just a village issue, it’s a township issue. We’re looking at the possibility of having three of these on one main thoroughfare in a township of 16-17,000 residents.”
Glover also stated he was concerned about the advertisement of the ordinance when it was on the ballot, as signs around the village advertised that money would go to parks and police, which is not what state law allocates. Michigan state law says that all marijuana retail establishments are subject to an excise tax of 10 percent of all sales, which means on top of a regular Michigan six percent sales tax, there would be an additional 10 percent tax that would go to the Marihuana Regulation Fund. The state then divides those funds with 15 percent going to the municipality where the establishment is located, 15 percent to the county where the establishment is located, 35 percent to the state School Aid Fund and 35 percent to the Transportation fund for road improvement.
Brandon Township will have a similar proposal on the ballot in November that will allow up to one marijuana retail establishment within the township.