Recreational marijuana is coming to another southwest Michigan municipality.
Benton Township trustees adopted three ordinances Tuesday to allow the production, transportation and sales of recreational marijuana within specific areas in the township.
The ordinances, based on existing medical marijuana ordinances, permit provisioning centers for both medical and recreational marijuana on the portion of Pipestone Avenue south of I-94 zoned as a heavy industrial.
In addition to the ordinances on licensing and certificates, the existing marijuana zoning ordinance was amended:
“In order to allow the marijuana uses that have been laid out, the zoning ordinance needed to be changed in a way that allowed the uses in the zoning district,” said Township Building Official Chris Fuchs, to the board. “On the medical side, there was a sense that we needed to tighten up where the testing facilities and the secure transporters were located to push them into the restricted industrial district.”
All marijuana businesses would be required to operate within industrial and heavy industrial-zoned districts away from schools, churches and other commercial businesses.
Consumption lounges, microbusinesses and drive-through facilities are still prohibited.
