KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Recreational marijuana will soon be legal to sell in the city of Kalamazoo.
During a virtual meeting Monday evening, Kalamazoo city commissioners approved the business zoning ordinance and two resolutions for permit fees and their social equity policy that have previously been discussed in a series of public meetings.
The ordinance amendments permit 8 different types of recreational marijuana establishments in the city:
- Grower (the number of plants permitted in each class is different for adult use than three medical)
- Processor
- Safety Compliance (testing laboratory)
- Secure Transport (transportation services)
- Retailer (note that for medical marihuana the shops were called provisioning centers)
- Microbusiness: An establishment that can grow up to 150 plants, process the plants, and sell the product on site.
- Excess Grower: A license which gives a grower the permission to have a very large grow operation through the stacking of multiple grow licenses.
- Designated Consumption Lounge: A commercial business which allows the consumption, but not the sale, of adult use marihuana.
Businesses except for laboratories would have to be placed 1000 feet away from existing K-12 school buildings and 500 feet away from daycare facilities, playgrounds, public pools, and youth centers.
Still, some citizens complained that the new zoning does not do enough to keep retail outlets away from children and churches. “We are going too big and too fast with marijuana. I am concerned about our youth and the impact on public safety,” one woman said.
Mayor David Anderson says the ordinance is not perfect, but there is no way it could be given all the conflicting opinions about marijuana.
“I am certain that all of us sitting here voting on this do not feel that this is an absolutely perfect ordinance in every single way, but we certainly are in one of those situations where we have desires and interests that are, in some ways, on both sides of this issue, and we’ve been dealing with that for some time now,” Mayor Anderson said. “What we try to do together is find a way to be sensitive to that, [be as fair as possible] and listen and thread the needle. I hope to think that’s where we’ve gotten on this, but at this point, now is the opportunity for us to finally take a vote on this one portion of our work, which is the zoning ordinance.”
Some current retailers also complained that the new competition would be bad for business and that the zoning will permit oversaturation.
City Planner Christina Anderson says the proposed ordinance could create about 38 new retail sites alone, but that is assuming the properties would be available for sale and that no other marijuana businesses are nearby.
However, the approved ordinance not allow marijuana businesses downtown because the current zoning of the central business district has been changed and officials say they hope to work out how to include marijuana in the mix by early this fall.
In addition, the social equity program was one of the main reasons the recreational marijuana process was delayed until now. It is meant to help residents who are looking to join the marijuana industry but have been disproportionately impacted by marijuana enforcement in the past.
The policy calls for a 25% reduction in the city permit fee of licensing fees for city residents living in the Northside, Edison and Eastside neighborhoods as well as those with past marijuana-related convictions as long as they do not involve distribution to a minor.
During their meeting on Tuesday, Commissioner Eric Cunningham proposed an amendment to expand the policy, saying all African American residents should get a break in license fees, but City Attorney Clyde Robinson said that would be unconstitutional, because it makes a classification based on race. His amendment was defeated 5 to 2.
During a meeting in early May, Robinson praised their social equity policy, “My impression is that, with the possible exception of the City of Flint, none of them are as robust as the City of Kalamazoo’s. Based upon my review of various other Michigan municipalities that have opened themselves up to recreational marijuana, I don’t think their programs are as strong as ours.”
The marijuana ordinance has been in the works for the last year and had a June 1st deadline. Last fall, commissioners decided to postpone the vote in order to hear more opinions from the public and to assess how other communities had found success with their rules.
Commissioners ultimately voted in favor of the business zoning ordinance, as well as the updates to city code and the social equity program.
The city now follows Kalamazoo Township, Battle Creek, Niles and others area that have already begun recreational sales.
Now that these new measures have been approved, they will go into effect beginning on Thursday, May 28, how soon it will take for the businesses to open depends on how long it takes to get permits, grow or obtain the marijuana, acquire properties, fulfill a long list of building requirements, hire staff, etc.
The city will charge $5,000 annually for a license.
A full list of different zoning regulations for each business type, as well as a map overlay and all related documents, can be viewed online at the City of Kalamazoo website.
(Will Kriss and John McNeill contributed to this report.)
