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WARREN — A petition that would have restricted marijuana dispensaries in Warren has been denied, following a review by Warren City Clerk Sonja Buffa’s office.
“After a thorough examination, the City Clerk’s Office determined that the petition did not meet the required threshold,” Buffa said in a statement. “The submitted petitions contained 252 fewer valid signatures than necessary, and therefore, does not qualify for placement on the ballot in the upcoming regular election.”
Had the initiative been approved by the clerk, it would have allowed Aug. 5 election voters to change the number of marijuana facilities in approved areas of the city from “unlimited” to “0.”
“The petition aimed to prohibit marihuana retail facilities within the City of Warren, in accordance with Section 6 of the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act,” Buffa said in the statement.
The ballot initiative, driven by the group “Warren Citizens for Common Sense,” would have altered a recent change to the city’s ordinance. This amendment was passed with a 5-2 vote at the Warren City Council’s March 25 meeting. It removed the Warren Medical Marihuana Review Committee’s ability to award licenses and vested it with the city’s Building Department and its Construction Board of Appeals.
The usage of “unlimited” in the ordinance was the source of controversy for many during the lengthy public comment portion of the March 25 meeting. The city council pushed back on this characterization at the meeting. The changed ordinance allowed for “unlimited” marijuana dispensaries in areas with particular zoning.
Businesses could only appear in industrial areas zoned as M-1, M-2, M-3 or M-4, according to Warren City Council Attorney Jeff Schroder. Facilities also need to be 500 feet from a residential lot line, religious institutions, planned unit developments and parks or libraries. They also need to be 1,000 feet away from schools or playgrounds.
“If you’ve been told it’s unlimited, that it can go anywhere in your neighborhood, you were misinformed,” Schroder said at the March meeting. “But, in today’s climate, it’s not that surprising that something like that could happen.”
Before and after the meeting, 501(c)(4) nonprofit Michigan Deserves Better distributed fliers throughout Warren warning of the dangers of “unlimited” marijuana facilities in Warren.
After the March meeting, Warren Citizens for Common Sense began collecting the signatures required to bring the issue before voters, according to the group’s representative Joe Munem. The petition was filed on April 29. This was the deadline to file in order to put the item on the ballot for the Aug. 5 election. A press release from the group claimed the petition had 3,200 signatures. Buffa had 14 days to determine if the signatures for the ballot initiative were legitimate.
“Under Michigan law, such a petition must include at least 2,504 valid signatures, which represents five percent (5%) of the votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election by qualified electors in Warren (MCL 333.27956(1)),” Buffa’s statement said.
Munem did not respond to a request for comment on behalf of the group at press time.
Yearslong lawsuit dismissed
At the Warren City Council’s May 13 meeting, Schroder said the 2019 lawsuit that spurred the March 25 ordinance change, Pinebrook Warren, LLC et al. vs. City of Warren, had been resolved.
“The city is now out of litigation for the first time in five and a half years,” Schroder said.
Schroder confirmed that the case had been dismissed in the Michigan Supreme Court on April 30 and in Macomb County Circuit Court on May 9. He said the circuit court case was dismissed with prejudice and without costs, interest or attorney fees.
“The legal fees were over a million dollars and it wasn’t accomplishing anything,” Schroder said. “You’ve inherited this mess and helped clean it up, so thanks to the council and all the parties that worked with us to resolve it.”
Warren City Council Secretary Mindy Moore thanked the attorneys who represented the city in the yearslong court proceedings.
“We truly, truly appreciate what you did,” she said. “Mary Michaels thank you, and Andrea Pike. It’s been a long time coming and I’m so glad it’s over, thank you.”
The changing ordinance in March attempted to address accusations of favoritism by the Warren Medical Marihuana Review Committee. The committee was under scrutiny for alleged favoritism and a lack of transparency.
Schroder said the City Council achieved its goal to get the Pinebrook cases dismissed.
“We get to move on, the lawsuit is dismissed,” he said. “Hopefully we can put all of this behind us, which was our goal.”
