By: Andy Kozlowski | Madison-Park News | Published April 2, 2026
MADISON HEIGHTS — Earlier this year, the Madison Heights City Council reduced the number of licenses and parcels available for medical and recreational marijuana businesses, and officials are hopeful this “rightsizing” will make for a more well-rounded mix of businesses.
“I think the timing was right, based on the fact we had a license that did not comply with what they were supposed to do to get their business open, and for about two years we were trying to get them to cooperate, but it never came to fruition,” said Madison Heights Mayor Corey Haines. “That made us realize we don’t necessarily want to be saturated with this one type of industry, because other businesses still need to be competitive and make a profit.
“So, one of our goals was to go through and eliminate that license after we revoked it, and the other items we updated were us realizing there was no need for them — there were no businesses applying for those other licenses,” Haines said. “That’s why we updated them at the same time, to flow better with our master plan. We want to have a variety of business in our city.”
The changes were first approved Feb. 9 with the council voting unanimously to amend the city’s marijuana ordinance, reducing the number of adult use marijuana facility licenses (retailer and processing) from five to four, limiting the number of transporter licenses to one and the number of safety compliance facilities to four, and reducing Grower Class C licenses from 25 to eight.
In addition, the council reduced the number of medical marijuana licenses (retailer, processor and grower) from five to four while limiting the number of transporter licenses to one and safety compliance facilities to four. The areas where the facilities would be allowed have been further reduced to individual parcels.
The license that was revoked, starting this sequence of events, was for a business that had planned to open on Dequindre Road, one of five “stacked license” marijuana facilities opening in the city. Its license was revoked at the end of 2025.
The others have opened: Liberty Cannabis, located at 29600 Stephenson Highway; Puff Cannabis, 2 Ajax Drive; and Quality Roots, 350 E. 14 Mile Road.
Madison Heights first authorized medical marijuana establishments in early 2019 and later amended the ordinance to also allow recreational marijuana as well. At that time, more applicants applied than the number of licenses available, so the city established a competitive scoring process to decide which applicants were awarded licenses, evaluating them on factors such as their business experience, financial stability, security plans, compliance history and the proposed site’s compatibility with zoning requirements.
Originally, facilities were limited to specific zoning districts commonly referred to as the city’s “green zone,” with setback requirements from schools, homes and other sensitive areas.
The city also required applicants to make commitments to the community. Earlier versions of the process included agreements for annual contributions to a community improvement fund and commitments related to local investment, public safety and responsible operations. Today, those funds are now sent directly to the nonprofit Madison Heights Community Foundation.
According to Madison Heights City Manager Melissa Marsh, the process has largely worked as intended. She said the existing businesses have generated new tax revenue and licensing fees for the city, contributed to local economic activity, and that they’ve made use of commercial or industrial properties that might otherwise be vacant.
The community has also benefitted from the funds the businesses have contributed for new gateway signage to the city, sponsorships at events, public murals, and technology and equipment for police and fire.
Even so, council members felt the time was right to refocus the ordinance.
“We’re probably going to just stay with the current businesses we already have and not be opening any others,” said Madison Heights City Councilmember Sean Fleming. “They’re all paying a 24% state tax on marijuana sales now — just started this year — and because of this tax, they might start rethinking whether to open more locations. So, why have all these licenses open?”
Added Madison Heights City Councilmember Emily Rohrbach: “I’m happy that we reduced the number of locations. I think this was a rightsizing of the green zone.
“I’m in favor of the cannabis businesses we originally approved,” she added. “We started with just a few, but every time there was a lawsuit, we were spending more to defend against them, and our hand was forced. … We’re hoping the current council and future councils stick with where we are now, which will allow for a more diverse mix of investment in our community, beyond just the cannabis industry.”