Jacob Bell
New Member
CHARLEVOIX -- Residents in the Charlevoix area aren't likely to see medical marijuana storefronts cropping up in their community anytime soon, but they could eventually have a producer living next door and never know it.
That was the "lesser-of-the-two-evils" direction elected officials from both the city of Charlevoix and Charlevoix Township gave to their respective planning boards Monday at a four-board combined meeting at city hall.
The purpose of the meeting was for officials from both municipalities to get a direction on how they want to regulate medical marijuana provider operations in their respective jurisdictions. Both municipalities have instituted moratoriums on medical marijuana operations to allow time to craft zoning ordinances to regulate them.
On Monday, city legal counsel Bryan Graham gave the boards a primer on the legislation, approved by Michigan voters in November of 2008, that allows for medical marijuana to be used and dispensed in the state.
First the law allows "qualifying patients and primary caregivers" to possess (and, for patients, use) marijuana for therapeutic and pain-relieving purposes. It allows patients to posses up to 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana and to cultivate up to 12 marijuana plants and allows primary caregivers to possess the same quantities for each of up to five patients to whom they are connected through the state's registration system.
Graham explained that any zoning ordinance that would control medical marijuana would apply only to primary care providers and not to individual patients. He also explained that a municipality cannot exclude a legally permitted land use.
He said there are three options available to municipalities.
The most litigious route would be to follow the lead of a handful of downtstate municipalities which have outlawed the operations based upon the argument that possession and use of marijuana is still illegal under federal law, which, they hold, trumps state law. Graham recommended against that route citing the high cost of a legal battle that would likely result.
Graham said the two more viable options that most municipalities have or are considering are the concentrated or dispersed philosophy. Both, he said, have their pros and cons.
-- Under the concentrated approach, all medical marijuana provider operations would be allowed only in a certain area of the city or township -- such as a commercial or industrial district. The drawback to this approach, Graham said, is the operation would likely be very visible as it would be allowed to advertise itself just like any other business. This could make the establishment and patients coming to and from it likely targets for break-ins and robberies. Also neighboring property owners could have concerns that their property value could suffer. The upside to the concentrated approach, Graham said, is everyone -- especially the police -- knows where the providers are located and patrols can target those areas for patrols.
-- The dispersed approach is exactly the opposite, Graham said. Under that approach, the provider operations would be allowed only in single-family homes. He said such an ordinance could be drafted with language that would limit how many providers could be operate one house, that could prohibit any sort of signs or any indication medical marijuana's presence there; and could also require that the marijuana be delivered to patients instead of being picked up. He said buffer zones could also be written into the language that would establish distances from places such as school, churches, parks, or other provider locations. However, Graham cautioned that the restrictions cannot be so limiting as to effectively eliminate all properties in the township or city.
Graham said municipalities that choose to allow the suppliers to operate in homes regulate the use through an administrative permit process, rather than through a special use permit. That's because a provision of the medical marijuana law makes it a felony for a government employee to disclose personally identifiable information about registered patients or providers a misdemeanor offense. Therefore, a public hearing (and the accompanying notices to neighboring property owners) that would be required for a special use permit, would by default violate the non-disclosure portion of the law.
When asked directly by Charlevoix Mayor Norman "Boogie" Carlson Jr., which option they recommend, both Graham and city planner Mike Spencer gave the nod to the dispersed, in-home option.
Graham estimated that 80-90 percent of municipalities are going with the in-home option, but imposing restrictions aimed at making their presence as invisible as possible.
"The way I look at it (the law) really legalized (medical marijuana) in a private setting," Spencer said. "I try to go back to the intent of the state law."
Graham added: "The statute was never intended to create an industry."
Both men agreed that the legislation is poorly constructed and vague and fraught with pitfalls, especially for police.
"This is a police department nightmare," Graham said.
Spencer agreed noting that many police officials are concerned about how the law could impact their drug enforcement efforts.
"They could go bust a legal grow operation," Spencer said. "If that happens, who pays for the busted down door?"
But Graham said that's a problem for the police to work out.
"This is a land-use issue only," he said. "We're not going to fix the medical marijuana law."
After some discussion, the clear consensus among both township and city officials was in favor of the in-home regulatory option and both boards charged their respective planning commissions to begin drafting zoning ordinance amendments in that vein.
Graham also suggested to the board members that as they set to work hammering out details of the restrictions -- such as buffer zones around certain properties, how many providers should be allowed per dwelling, and so on, that the more restrictive the ordinance is, the greater the chance that it could be challenged in court. Secondly, he suggested considering the 2008 vote totals on the proposals in their respective jurisdictions as a barometer for the community's support for medical marijuana.
Charlevoix County Clerk records show that 60 percent of voters in the township and 63 percent in the city voted in favor of the proposal -- which approximately mirrored the state-wide vote.
In the coming weeks, both the city and township planning commissions will work on the details of their respective ordinances, which will then come back to the council or township board of trustees for final approval.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: petoskeynews.com
Author: Steve Zucker
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Northern Michigan Review
Website: In-home option favored for regulating medical marijuana
That was the "lesser-of-the-two-evils" direction elected officials from both the city of Charlevoix and Charlevoix Township gave to their respective planning boards Monday at a four-board combined meeting at city hall.
The purpose of the meeting was for officials from both municipalities to get a direction on how they want to regulate medical marijuana provider operations in their respective jurisdictions. Both municipalities have instituted moratoriums on medical marijuana operations to allow time to craft zoning ordinances to regulate them.
On Monday, city legal counsel Bryan Graham gave the boards a primer on the legislation, approved by Michigan voters in November of 2008, that allows for medical marijuana to be used and dispensed in the state.
First the law allows "qualifying patients and primary caregivers" to possess (and, for patients, use) marijuana for therapeutic and pain-relieving purposes. It allows patients to posses up to 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana and to cultivate up to 12 marijuana plants and allows primary caregivers to possess the same quantities for each of up to five patients to whom they are connected through the state's registration system.
Graham explained that any zoning ordinance that would control medical marijuana would apply only to primary care providers and not to individual patients. He also explained that a municipality cannot exclude a legally permitted land use.
He said there are three options available to municipalities.
The most litigious route would be to follow the lead of a handful of downtstate municipalities which have outlawed the operations based upon the argument that possession and use of marijuana is still illegal under federal law, which, they hold, trumps state law. Graham recommended against that route citing the high cost of a legal battle that would likely result.
Graham said the two more viable options that most municipalities have or are considering are the concentrated or dispersed philosophy. Both, he said, have their pros and cons.
-- Under the concentrated approach, all medical marijuana provider operations would be allowed only in a certain area of the city or township -- such as a commercial or industrial district. The drawback to this approach, Graham said, is the operation would likely be very visible as it would be allowed to advertise itself just like any other business. This could make the establishment and patients coming to and from it likely targets for break-ins and robberies. Also neighboring property owners could have concerns that their property value could suffer. The upside to the concentrated approach, Graham said, is everyone -- especially the police -- knows where the providers are located and patrols can target those areas for patrols.
-- The dispersed approach is exactly the opposite, Graham said. Under that approach, the provider operations would be allowed only in single-family homes. He said such an ordinance could be drafted with language that would limit how many providers could be operate one house, that could prohibit any sort of signs or any indication medical marijuana's presence there; and could also require that the marijuana be delivered to patients instead of being picked up. He said buffer zones could also be written into the language that would establish distances from places such as school, churches, parks, or other provider locations. However, Graham cautioned that the restrictions cannot be so limiting as to effectively eliminate all properties in the township or city.
Graham said municipalities that choose to allow the suppliers to operate in homes regulate the use through an administrative permit process, rather than through a special use permit. That's because a provision of the medical marijuana law makes it a felony for a government employee to disclose personally identifiable information about registered patients or providers a misdemeanor offense. Therefore, a public hearing (and the accompanying notices to neighboring property owners) that would be required for a special use permit, would by default violate the non-disclosure portion of the law.
When asked directly by Charlevoix Mayor Norman "Boogie" Carlson Jr., which option they recommend, both Graham and city planner Mike Spencer gave the nod to the dispersed, in-home option.
Graham estimated that 80-90 percent of municipalities are going with the in-home option, but imposing restrictions aimed at making their presence as invisible as possible.
"The way I look at it (the law) really legalized (medical marijuana) in a private setting," Spencer said. "I try to go back to the intent of the state law."
Graham added: "The statute was never intended to create an industry."
Both men agreed that the legislation is poorly constructed and vague and fraught with pitfalls, especially for police.
"This is a police department nightmare," Graham said.
Spencer agreed noting that many police officials are concerned about how the law could impact their drug enforcement efforts.
"They could go bust a legal grow operation," Spencer said. "If that happens, who pays for the busted down door?"
But Graham said that's a problem for the police to work out.
"This is a land-use issue only," he said. "We're not going to fix the medical marijuana law."
After some discussion, the clear consensus among both township and city officials was in favor of the in-home regulatory option and both boards charged their respective planning commissions to begin drafting zoning ordinance amendments in that vein.
Graham also suggested to the board members that as they set to work hammering out details of the restrictions -- such as buffer zones around certain properties, how many providers should be allowed per dwelling, and so on, that the more restrictive the ordinance is, the greater the chance that it could be challenged in court. Secondly, he suggested considering the 2008 vote totals on the proposals in their respective jurisdictions as a barometer for the community's support for medical marijuana.
Charlevoix County Clerk records show that 60 percent of voters in the township and 63 percent in the city voted in favor of the proposal -- which approximately mirrored the state-wide vote.
In the coming weeks, both the city and township planning commissions will work on the details of their respective ordinances, which will then come back to the council or township board of trustees for final approval.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: petoskeynews.com
Author: Steve Zucker
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Northern Michigan Review
Website: In-home option favored for regulating medical marijuana
