WARREN, Mich. (FOX 2) – Marijuana businesses and dispensaries may be getting the green light to open up shop in Warren.
The Warren City Council voted unanimously in favor at the last meeting, and the next one, on Tuesday night, may seal the deal. This brings the city one step closer to opening marijuana dispensaries and businesses around town.
What they’re saying:
Council member Jonathan Lafferty says they voted unanimously in favor during the first reading a few weeks ago.
“I’m not a fan of marijuana. But there are many people in Warren that enjoy it. Today, they leave the city. They buy their marijuana, and those municipalities enjoy the taxable revenue stream from the purchases,” said Lafferty. “At the March 11 council meeting, we took the item to modify the recreational marijuana in the city of Warren, which essentially paved the way to open a limited number of recreational marijuana shops within operation.”
All eyes are on Tuesday night’s second and final reading. Lafferty later explained it could bring in upwards of a million dollars.
“If this proposal, if this ordinance passes tomorrow, those revenues would stay within the city, and the city would enjoy that taxable revenue stream,” Lafferty said.
The second reading establishes an “unlimited number of recreational marijuana operations but limited by zoning restrictions.”
This includes regulations like:
“A marijuana operation cannot be located less than 1,000 feet from a school, 500 feet from a residentially zoned neighborhood,” Lafferty said.
The backstory:
He says years ago, there was a subcommittee that met behind closed doors and chose which businesses could and could not open shop. Meanwhile, the group violated the Open Meetings Act.
“That ended up being dissolved in the courts over the last six years,” Lafferty said.
What’s next:
Now, anyone can apply to open a business, but first, it’s got to get approved on Tuesday.
“You are not going to have a shop open up at the end of your street. There will not be a proliferation of marijuana shops throughout the entire city. I would be surprised at the end of the day if 10 shops open successfully within the next couple of years,” Lafferty said.
Tuesday’s reading will be at the Warren Community Center at 7 p.m. The public is invited.
The Source: FOX 2 talked with Warren City Council member Jonathan Lafferty.
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