A public hearing is scheduled for the next Coldwater Planning Commission meeting to discuss the potential removal of cannabis grow establishments from the special land use approval process in the city's industrial zones. The hearing will take place on October 7th, following the Commission's consensus on Monday night to move forward with the proposal.
Discussions around this potential policy change have been ongoing for nearly two years. Currently, both grower and excess grower licenses are permitted in areas zoned D-2 Heavy Industrial, contingent upon special land use approval. Similarly, cannabis microbusinesses require special land use approval to operate in C-4 General Business zones.
Since May 2021, four special land use requests have been approved, but only one business, Craft Leaf LLC at 211 West Garfield Avenue, has obtained both state and city licenses, according to City Manager Keith Baker. No applications for microbusinesses have been submitted or approved to date.
City Attorney Amanda O'Boyle clarified that the proposed changes would not affect Craft Leaf LLC. In her memo to the Planning Commission, she suggested including a sunset provision that would classify any pre-existing cannabis grow licenses within the D-2 District as legal non-conforming uses after a specified date. O'Boyle also noted that the provision allowing cannabis retailers as an accessory to grow operations and processors remains intact.
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