When, where could medical marijuana dispensaries open in East Lansing?
Megan BantaEAST LANSING – A medical marijuana dispensary could open in East Lansing by the end of the year.
The East Lansing City Council passed local rules allowing for dispensaries inNovember.
But between the application process and construction timelines, many of the companies vying to open one inside the city limits likely would not be able to until late this summer or fall.
As of Monday afternoon, the city's planning department had seven pending applications for the special use permits that will allow dispensaries to operate in East Lansing, according to city Planning and Zoning Administrator David Haywood.
Seven companies have asked to open dispensaries at locations across the city:
- 1054 E Grand River Ave.: EL Grand Inc.
- 1100 E Grand River Ave.: DNVK 1, LLC
- 1108 E Grand River Ave.: ABCD Properties, LLC
- 1234 E Grand River Ave.: CA-East Lansing, Inc.
- 1415 Michigan Ave: JBC, LLC
- 1950 Merritt Rd.: RJB Enterprises, LLC
- 3318 to 3332 West Rd.: Green Peak Industries, LLC
The city's planning commission recommended city council approve three of those, he said — the locations on Michigan Avenue and Merritt Road and at 1100 E Grand River Ave.
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Those three applications are set for introduction to the city council on Feb. 12 and a public hearing on March 26, Haywood said. The council could take action on any of them as soon as the night of the public hearing.
The rest, with the exception of 1234 E. Grand River Ave., are up for discussion at the planning commission on Feb. 13 and could also make it to the council's March 26 agenda, he said. The application from CA-East Lansing at 1234 E. Grand River is too new to make it onto an agenda yet, he said.
When?
Approval wouldn't mean an immediate opening, though.
Most of the applications include plans for remodeling that call for at least a few months of construction.
The bottom line, Haywood said, is that "there's enough time for them to be opened yet in 2019."
How many and where?
Not all of those seven dispensaries can realistically get approval to operate.
That's because the city's rules regulating dispensaries don't set a hard cap on the number that can operate citywide but do limit how close they can be to one another in four specially-created zoning areas known as overlay districts.
These districts include:
- Land zoned for "B2" retail use south of Michigan Avenue and west of Brody Road
- Land bounded by Abbey and Coolidge roads, east of U.S. 127 and south of the city's Office Industrial Park district
- An area near Costco, bounded by Park Lake, Haslett and Merritt Roads
- The East Village area, including land south of Grand River Avenue between Cedar Street and Hagadorn Road
Because the districts are small — most cover only a few blocks — and dispensaries must located at least 1,000 feet from each other and from a school, daycare or liquor store, the rules effectively limit the total number to about four to six, Haywood said.
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Only two areas — the one including Coolidge Road and the East Village — have enough room for two to locate in the same district, he said.
Contact reporter Megan Banta at (517) 377-1261 or mbanta@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @MeganBanta_1