Years after their counterparts around the region, Niles Township voters approved recreational marijuana dispensaries on the Nov. 5 ballot. On Monday the township board took the first steps toward implementing voters’ wishes.
The ballot measure affects a mile-and-a-half stretch of M-51 in Niles Township, from Fulkerson Road south to the state line. It calls for the township to license at least four dispensaries and place a cap on the number they’ll allow.
On Monday the board voted 4-3 to allow only the four stores.
Township Supervisor Marge Durm-Hiatt said interested retailers have been attending meetings and she expects the township to receive at least 10 applications.
"It's going to be a job for us to narrow it down to four," Durm-Hiatt said, noting the township could decide to add more later depending on advice from its attorney.
The board Monday also decided the stores can’t be within 500 feet of a place of worship. There are now three places of worship within 500 feet of that stretch of highway.
Durm-Hiatt said the board could take 90 days to award the licenses. Once applicants meet all the other requirements that any new retailers must meet, from parking to drainage, she expects it to take at least a year for the stores to open.
Township voters two years ago rejected a ballot proposal to allow the shops anywhere in the district. This time, out of about 5,000 voters, the measure passed by just a couple hundred votes.
Durm-Hiatt declined to give her own opinion on the issue.
"I think we're going with what the people voted on and we're staying as close to what the ballot issue was, and we're moving forward."
