City of Grayling to conduct public hearing on proposed new marihuana ordinance

The City of Grayling will conduct a public hearing with regard to potential changes of the city’s marihuana ordinance during a regular meeting of the city council on Monday, April 10.

For months, the City of Grayling Planning Commission has been exploring the possibility of adjusting city ordinances to allow “medical marihuana facilities and adult use marihuana establishments” inside specific parts of the city (the industrial zone and part of the general commercial zone).

The city’s current marihuana ordinance (19-17, effective March 8, 2019) says “Marihuana Establishments are prohibited within the boundaries of the City of Grayling. It is a violation of this Ordinance for a person to apply for a state or local license to operate a Marihuana Establishment within the boundaries of the City of Grayling. It is a violation of this Ordinance for a person to sell or display marihuana for sale in a public place within the boundaries of the City of Grayling. It is a violation of this Ordinance for a person to consume marihuana in a public place within the boundaries of the City of Grayling.”

During a regular meeting of the Grayling City Council on Monday, January 9, the council viewed a draft of a modified “medical marihuana facilities and adult use marihuana establishments” ordinance. 

According to the draft provided to the council on January 9, the proposed marihuana ordinance would “protect public health and safety through reasonable limitations on marihuana operations” and “protect residential neighborhoods by limiting the location and the concentration of types of medical marihuana facilities and adult use marihuana establishments to specific areas of the city” and “impose fees to defray and recover the cost to the city of the administration and enforcement costs associated with medical marihuana facilities and adult use marihuana establishments.” 

City Manager Erich Podjaske – during the January meeting – told the council that the city would have to change its zoning ordinance and its marihuana ordinance before marihuana businesses would be allowed in the City of Grayling. 

According to the city’s zoning administrator, the “Planning Commission has agreed upon this use in the Industrial and the C-3B districts.” The C-3B district includes the I-75 Business Loop area south of Huron Street/M-72, according to a map in the city’s zoning ordinance. The Industrial district includes land in the Industrial Park, a sliver of property between Huron Street and the railroad tracks, and a piece of land at the northwest edge of the City of Grayling border, according to the map.

During a regular meeting of the city council on Monday, March 13, Podjaske said the city attorney had made a few recent changes to the verbiage of the proposed marihuana ordinance and was now “good with it.” Podjaske said the city would conduct a public hearing for the ordinance during the April 10 council meeting (6:30 p.m. start).

Editor’s note: “Marihuana” or “marijuana”? “The Cannabis Regulatory Agency is frequently asked why marijuana is sometimes spelled with an ‘h’ and other times is spelled with a ‘j.’ Both spellings – marijuana and marihuana – are acceptable. While the spelling with a ‘j’ is more common today, you will still see Michigan law using the ‘h’ spelling. The spelling of marijuana has a long history in the United States. Michigan’s history primarily starts from the spelling that was chosen for the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Michigan adopted its statutory definition of marijuana in the Public Health Code, utilizing the past federal spelling, marihuana. As governing state laws spell marihuana with an ‘h,’ MRA legal communication and references to statutes in relation to the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, the Michigan Medical Facilities Licensing Act, or the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act – and the corresponding administrative rules – will use an ‘h’ in the spelling of marihuana. In non-formal communication, ‘j’ will generally be used. An act of the Michigan Legislature would be required in order to change the spelling of marijuana in Michigan statutes,” according to www.michigan.gov.