The tortured back-and-forth history of marijuana dispensaries in Niles Township has yet another chapter unfolding tonight.
The township’s plan commission will meet tonight to consider an ordinance that would allow dispensaries as a special use in areas that are zoned for business. It would set standards for things that include landscaping, operations, waste, odors and separation distances.
Residents are invited to attend the 7 p.m. hearing at the township hall and share their opinions.
The township board in June of last year approved 21 applications for dispensaries, leading some to call that stretch of 11th Street or M-51 as “The Green Mile.” But before any could be approved to open, voters in November approved a ballot measure banning the shops. In the coming Nov. 3 election, the issue is back on the ballot, this time as a measure allowing no more than four dispensaries at any time.
This is for Niles Charter Township, not the city of Niles, which has its own rules for pot shops. If the plan commission approves the ordinance it then goes to the Berrien County Plan Commission and finally to the township board.
