Warren approves allowing recreational marijuana dispensaries amid pushback
Warren City Council passed an ordinance that will pave the way for recreational marijuana establishments to open in the city, despite opposition from some residents.
The ordinance, approved Tuesday evening, allows an unlimited amount of recreational marijuana retail establishments in Michigan's third largest city, but City Council attorney Jeffrey Schroder said they will be limited by zoning regulations.
Warren resident Barbara Cerda said the council members have to take into consideration "what the residents of Warren want."
"And personally, I don't want unlimited dispensaries here," she said.
City Council approved the ordinance in a 5-2 vote ― with Councilmen Dave Dwyer and Henry Newnan dissenting. City officials say they're trying to end a several-year lawsuit involving medical marijuana applicants.
"I want to put our five and a half or six years' worth of litigation behind us and allow the city to move forward," City Council President Angela Rogensues told The News.
Around a dozen residents voiced opposition to the ordinance at the meeting, some expressing concerns about "unlimited" language and about marijuana's harms. More than half a dozen people, meanwhile, expressed support of the legislation.
During a presentation at the meeting, Schroder, the council's attorney, said the recreational marijuana facilities are "not completely unlimited." They must be in industrial or heavy commercial zones, and they need to be at least 1,000 feet from a school's lot line and at least 500 feet from residential lot lines, planned unit developments, libraries, parks and religious institutions, he said. That means they are only allowed in "very limited areas" of the city, he said.
"If you've been told that it's unlimited ― that it can go anywhere in your neighborhood ― you were misinformed," he said.
For several years, the city has allowed recreational marijuana processors, growers, secure transporters and labs, but not recreational retailers.
More than 60 applicants sought a medical marijuana provisioning center license in Warren in 2019, and the city's marijuana review committee selected 15, according to Schroder. A number of parties sued, saying the review committee violated Michigan's Open Meetings Act by meeting in secret. Schroder said the Michigan Supreme Court ultimately held that the panel had violated the act.
There are other undecided issues in the lawsuit, and the council wants to end the suit. Schroder said that a few years ago, the city capped the number of recreational marijuana retail establishments at 0, pending the outcome of the litigation.
"Would this be my first, second, third, fourth or fifth option?" he said of the ordinance. "No, but this has been going on way too long, and somebody had to stand up."
Schroder said there has been a misinformation campaign against the ordinance. Warren residents have been receiving flyers about it, including one that says, "Coming soon to Warren ... UNLIMITED POT SHOPS!"
Schroder said Center Line, a small municipality surrounded by the city of Warren, has numerous dispensaries. Center Line has obtained revenue from those shops through the state's excise tax, the city's license fees and property taxes, he said.
Warren resident Vanita Palmeri asked the council if there are no other avenues for obtaining more revenue. She also asked what the ordinance would affect the city's police force and cost taxpayers.
"Why can we not bring any more positive things to the city of Warren, without involving the local news, without involving us as your taxpayers ― your people who put you where you are?" she said.
Cerda, another resident, suggested that if the council members are looking for additional revenue sources, they could collaborate with other city officials to look for other ways to increase revenue or decrease costs.
Mark Abraham, who owns Vendco Michigan, a grow and processing facility in Warren, spoke in support of the ordinance on Tuesday.
"Tonight is the night to stop this lawsuit that's been inflicting all this pain in this city," he said. "Businesses need to be able to participate and compete against … our neighbors."
Rogensues, the City Council president, said that all of the council members live in the city.
"We wouldn't allow something in someone else's neighborhood that we wouldn't allow in our own," she said, adding that the ordinance is "the most responsible way to resolve a almost no-win situation."
Newnan, one of the council members, told The News that he voted "no" on the ordinance because he agrees with his constituents who "don't want marijuana in our community."
"And the way marijuana is these days, it is problematic," he said, "and I wish to recognize that."
However, he said that when it comes to resolving the lawsuit against the city, the ordinance was "the best course of action."
Warren Mayor Lori Stone said the ordinance regulates where the dispensaries can be located, which she said helps to "quell concerns."
"I appreciate council's leadership on this matter of moving through some of the issues that surround what we inherited when it came to marijuana licensing," she said, "and I do believe that this is the best solution, considering the conditions that we are facing."
asnabes@detroitnews.com
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Warren approves allowing recreational marijuana dispensaries amid pushback
