By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
Staff Writer
Ortonville — During the regular Monday night meeting, the village council voted 7-0 to set two dates for public education sessions regarding the marijuana establishments ballot question. The dates will be June 22 and July 11, both at 7 p.m. at Old Town Hall, 486 Mill St., Ortonville.
The purpose of these two public education sessions is to give residents the opportunity to provide background information on the ballot language and answer any resident questions.
“Voters in the village will face a ballot question unique to Ortonville voters on the Aug. 2, 2022 ballot,” said village manager Ryan Madis.
The proposed ordinance would replace the one currently in effect that does not allow for marijuana establishments within village limits if it passes.
Recreational marijuana was legalized in Michigan in 2018, and municipalities that did not want establishments in their jurisdiction had to put ordinances in place to opt out of allowing them.
Ortonville originally passed this ordinance in March of 2019 with a 5-2 vote, and the ordinance was challenged in March of 2021.
At that time, the village council voted unanimously to keep the current ordinance in place. However, the Ortonville Residents for Action sued the village to put the measure on a ballot for residents to decide.
The Aug. 2 election was chosen by both parties in the lawsuit as it is a gubernatorial primary election, which garners more voters than the other option, which was May of this year.
The full text of the ordinance is on file at the Village offices for anyone who wishes to read it, and there will be a summary of the proposed ordinance posted on the village website as well. The village attorney will also be present at both public education sessions.
“The village attorney will act as the village spokes person on some of these specific questions because of the legalities involved,” said Madis.
The summary states that the ordinance calls for up to two establishments, gives operating hours of between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. and gives a scoring system that the village council could use given the event that more than two establishments want to open within the village limits. It also establishes a $5,000 annual fee per applicant, which is the maximum allowed by state law.