Three Marijuana Dispensaries Likely Coming to East Lansing

Above: The former Sawyers Pontiac dealership, the location for one approved application.

The East Lansing City Council approved applications for three medical marijuana provisioning centers on Michigan Avenue, West Road, and Merritt Road in East Lansing at its meeting March 26.

Council also voted to delay decisions on three additional applications for properties on East Grand River Avenue until a special “marijuana meeting” scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 23.

Council’s vote to approve site plan and Special Use Permit (SUP) applications is the City’s last step in approving medical marijuana provisioning centers, but all six applicants are still waiting for final certification from the State of Michigan. If opened, these retail shops could only sell to those with prescriptions for medical marijuana.

The first approved site is 1415 Michigan Avenue, the former Sawyers Pontiac. Applicant JBC LLC proposed to demolish the larger building on the property that was used as a showroom, and to use the smaller office structure on the east side of the site as a provisioning center. Part of the parking lot is currently used as overflow parking for Sparrow Hospital, and that will continue.

Council voted 4-1 to approve that Michigan Avenue application, with Councilmember Ruth Beier casting the lone “no” vote.

Council also approved an application from RJB Enterprises/Emerald Growth Partners for 1950 Merritt Road, a property which currently houses Engstrom Dental. East Lansing Planning and Zoning Administrator David Haywood said the applicants planned to make no structural changes to that property.

Lisa Knowles, DDS, whose office is located across Merritt Road from Engstrom Dental, asked whether the provisioning center would utilize “high-end odor control.”

A lawyer representing RJB replied that they did have a sophisticated air filtration system planned, but that odor issues weren’t likely because marijuana products would come to them sealed and would be kept in sealed displays.

Knowles also questioned whether there was a law to prevent customers from lighting up in the parking lot after making their purchases. Several members of Council responded that such conduct is already illegal.

Council voted 4-1 to approve the 1950 Merritt Road application, with Councilmember Beier again voting in opposition.

The third approved application came from Green Peak Industries for property located at 3318-3332 West Road. The West Road provisioning center would be new construction, since the parcel is currently undeveloped. The applicant plans to leave the rest of the property (which includes wetlands) as it is.

Mayor Pro Tem Erik Altmann questioned Green Peak’s principal, Joe Neller, about the decision to locate the center on a part of the property that required them to put in private sewer lines. Neller explained that he had considered several locations on the site, and determined that being close to the Coolidge Road corridor seemed most conducive to a retail business.

Neller added that the chosen location provided a screen of trees between the marijuana business and nearest neighbor, Greenstone Farm Credit, which had expressed concern about being near a retail marijuana operation.

Council unanimously approved the West Road application.

Although Council held public hearings on three other sets of applications for medical marijuana provisioning centers located on East Grand River Avenue between Bogue Street and Hagadorn Road, they voted to table any decisions on those applications until April 23.

The properties in question are 1108 East Grand River Avenue (formerly Oadie’s Party Store), 1054 East Grand River Avenue (currently Valvoline), and 1100 East Grand River Avenue (currently Subway).

The main reason for separate consideration of the Grand River Avenue applications is that all three of the properties are within the Downtown Development District, and some members of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) have expressed strong opposition to having any provisioning centers located downtown.

Additionally, after passage of Ordinance 1448 last Tuesday at Council, that area is the only medical marijuana overlay district that still requires a 1000-foot separation between provisioning centers. The separation distance, coupled with the relatively small area of the overlay district, means that only one of three current applicants could actually operate a provisioning center.

Of these East Grand River Avenue applications, the City’s Planning Commission voted to recommend all three, and the DDA voted only to approve the application for the current Subway location.

The proposed April 23 meeting for Council to decide on the East Grand River applications is not yet on the City’s website, but will take place at 7 p.m., Council’s regular meeting time.