Niles Charter Township in first phases of establishing Marijuana Ordinance

NOW: Niles Charter Township in first phases of establishing Marijuana Ordinance
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BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. -- Niles Charter Township is laying out a plan for pot shops.

Tuesday night, the Township's Planning Commission reviewed the first draft of a Marijuana Ordinance.

The township is making room for new marijuana dispensaries along South 11th Street between Stateline Road and Fulkerson Road; a roughly three-mile stretch that begins at the Indiana/Michigan state line.

Currently there are no dispensaries in the township, but 52 percent of township voters said 'Yes' to establishing a marijuana ordinance on the election ballot in November.

They are pulling from the New Buffalo Township's Marijuana Ordinance to help draft their own.

Things like a dispensary's distance from parks and schools, parking, and hours of operation were discussed in Tuesday's meeting.

It's new territory for the township, who opted out of establishing a marijuana ordinance in 2019.

Tuesday's meeting was just the beginning of laying out how they want to welcome in new marijuana businesses.

Members of the public gave their two cents about some of the guidelines the commission is working through in hopes of bringing good business to the area.

"You don't want people and business to locate here purely out of convenience, you want the finest operators who are finding the best locations for themselves to operate in," said one member of the public.

The draft will go through a few more meetings to dot their i's and cross their t's before it's up for public hearing, then the township board will approve it.

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