SN 8.7.2021 FINAL

The Sun and News, Saturday, August 7, 2021/ Page 5

Sunday Services:

9:30 AM – Worship

11:00 AM – Sunday School

6:00 PM – Adult Bible Study

6:00 PM – Student Ministries

Dr. Brian F. Harrison, Pastor

Our mission is to worship God and equip

committed followers of Jesus Christ who will

reach our community with the Gospel

7240 68th Street SE

Caledonia, MI 49316

616-698-

http://www.alaskabaptist.org

CALEDONIA:

9185 Cherry Valley Ave SE

MIDDLEVILLE:

1664 M-

LEARN MORE!

thejchurch.com

616-217-

@thejchurch

ONE CHURCH - TWO LOCATIONS

Church ad_B&W_2.5 X 2_072320.indd 1 7/23/2020 4:16:21 PM

Worship Services:

10:00 AM

Pastor Tony Shumaker

Pastor Greg Cooper

In Person Family Service 10 am • Come as you are!

Online Facebook and You Tube 10:20 am

http://www.brightside.org • 616-891-

8175 Broadmoor – Caledonia

See our website for further information.

Yankee Springs Bible Church

8900 Duffy Road

Middleville, MI 49333

"Shining Forth God's Light"

Sunday Morning Worship ........................10:00 a.m.

Community Group ..................................11:00 a.m.

James L. Collison, Pastor

http://www.yankeespringsbiblechurch.org

Good Shepherd

Lutheran Church

908 W. Main Street, Middleville

(Missouri Synod)

Sunday Worship ................9:30 a.m.

Pastor: Rev. Peter Berg

http://goodshepherdlcms.googlepages.com

Church: (269) 795-

NEW SERVICE TIME FOR JULY-AUGUST:

Sunday at 10:00am

20 State Street, Middleville, MI / http://www.tvcweb.com

Local Church

Directory

Saturday Evening Mass ...................5:00 p.m.

Sunday Masses ...........9:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.

MIDDLEVILLE

CHRISTIAN REFORMED

708 W. Main Street

Worship Service ..............10:00 a.m.

“BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

IN MIDDLEVLLE AND BEYOND”

Church – (269) 795-

middlevillecrc.org

facebook.com/middlevillecrc

@ St. Paul Lutheran Church

& Preschool

8436 Kraft Ave., Caledonia, MI 49316

Office 616-891-8688 • Preschool (616) 891-

http://www.stpaulcaledonia.org

NOW OPEN TO PUBLIC

Sunday Worship:

8:30 a.m. & 11 a.m.

Fellowship

9:45 to 10:00 a.m.

Sunday School

10 to 10:45 a.m.

Whitneyville

Fellowship Church

4935 Whitneyville Ave, between 52nd & 48 th^

(^)
Praising God through
Hymns  Reading God’s Word  Special Music
Worship Services Prayer Meeting & Bible Study
Sunday 10 am & 6 pm Wed nesday 6:30 pm & 7 pm (^)
Pastor Ed Carpenter - 616-868- 0621
Sermons online: WhitneyvilleFellowship.org
Middleville council refines marijuana ordinance language
Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
The Middleville Village
Council is continuing to
modify the language on
legalizing marijuana-based
businesses in the village.
Meeting as a committee of
the whole Tuesday, the coun-
cil deleted an ordinance pro-
vision that would have
required a business to include
a security plan as part of its
application, including
alarms, recording or moni-
toring devices and security
guard arrangements. Trustee
Mike Cramer, who proposed
the deletion, expressed con-
cern of a potential security
breach where sensitive infor-
mation could be made pub-
lic.
Cramer made his motion
after the council received
comments from Shawn
Benner, owner of the Kenai
Red Group, which operates a
medical marijuana provi-
sioning center in Baltimore
Township. Benner told the
council via Zoom the state
already has detailed security
requirements for a marijuana
operation.
“I don’t want the copy of
those plans in the village,
whether they’re available to
the public or not, because if
we have a data breach, that’s
an issue,” Cramer said. “If
the state’s requiring it, then
I’m good with that.”
The security plan require-
ment had been included in
the scoring criteria by which
license applicants would be
evaluated. The deletion
would likely mean the scor-
ing rubric would have to be
amended.
Trustee Kevin Smith
agreed with Cramer’s con-
cern about potential liability.
“It is too common for
municipalities of our size to
get smoked in cyber liability
or a cyber event,” Smith said.
“It is a mess to clean up,
especially if there’s some-
thing that happens as a result
of that [breach], if sensitive
data is shared.”
The council is considering
two ordinances, connected
with each other, that would
legalize marijuana business-
es in the village. The propos-
al is scheduled to go back to
the council for potential final
action Aug. 24.
One of the ordinances
would allow for marijuana
businesses in areas zoned for
highway commercial or
industrial use. The other
would set forth a limit on
how many licenses would be
issued, as well as the process
of applying for a license and
standards that must be met
for approval, Assistant City
Manager and Planning/
Zoning Administrator Brian
Urquhart said.
“We’re allowing them as a
special land use that would
receive approval and review
by the planning commis-
sion,” Urquhart said.
“Following that process ... it
would go before the village
manager for review and issu-
ing a license.”
Village Attorney Mark
Nettleton added that an
applicant who is denied a
license for a marijuana busi-
ness may seek an appeal.
“The ordinance ... sets up
a process by which, if there’s
a denial of the business
license, then the applicant
can appeal to the village
council to make a determina-
tion as to the propriety of that
denial,” Nettleton said.
The regulatory ordinance
would place a cap of five
total licenses throughout the
village, including two for
retail. Retail businesses and
provisioning centers that
offer medical marijuana
would be allowed in high-
way commercial-zoned areas
only, primarily along M-37.
Growing operations would
only be allowed in industri-
al-zoned areas, primarily on
the village’s north side.
Recreational processing
operations, secure transport
operations and safety com-
pliance facilities would be
allowed as special land uses
in both the highway com-
mercial and industrial zones.
“Once those approvals are
obtained on the zoning side
by the planning commission,
then the applicant can come
forward and submit their
business license applica-
tion,” Nettleton said. “That’s
first reviewed by the clerk to
determine that it’s adminis-
tratively complete – basical-
ly all the boxes are checked
and the information is pro-
vided. Once it’s determined
to be administratively com-
plete, it is reviewed by the
manager, and the manager
makes the approval or deni-
al.”
The village manager must
review a completed applica-
tion and make a determina-
tion to approve or deny a
business license within 21
days. If the application is
denied, an applicant has 10
days to file an appeal,
Nettleton said.
Applicants must pay a
$5,000 nonrefundable fee as
part of its application.
Permits would need to be
renewed annually, Nettleton
said.
In November 2018,
Middleville voters supported
passage of Proposal 1, the
measure that legalized mari-
juana for recreational use in
the state. Of the 1,321 voters
in the village that cast ballots
in the election, 793 voted yes
and 528 voted no, according
to Barry County election
records. In January 2020, the
village council directed the
planning commission to
work on crafting a marijuana
ordinance.
Less than 20 people turned
out for a June public hearing
at Thornapple Kellogg High
School on the ordinances.
Only four people spoke at
the hearing – one in favor of
the proposal, two to deny it,
and one who had a neutral
position.
One council member
opposed having a limit of
five licenses for the village.
Council Trustee Ed
Schellinger said he would
support two licenses for
retail, but opposed approval
of any other licenses for
growing or other marijua-
na-based operations.
“I personally feel five is
too many,” Schellinger said.
“I personally feel that the
town, when they hear that
we’ve got five marijuana
businesses coming to our lit-
tle village, they’re going to
raise up on their hind legs
and [charge into town].”
Schellinger asked
Nettleton if it was possible
for the council to approve the
number of licenses to be
awarded first before the
overall ordinances are
approved. Nettleton didn’t
see that idea as workable.
“I would want council to
adopt a comprehensive regu-
latory ordinance that would
specify that agreed-upon
number,” Nettleton said.
“I wouldn’t want you to
have a standalone ordinance
that says we’ll do three mar-
ijuana businesses, period,
and then have a separate
ordinance that says for those
marijuana business licenses,
this is the process that you
follow,” Nettleton added.
Schellinger’s proposed
limit of two licenses ran into
opposition from his col-
leagues.
“They wouldn’t be able to
grow it here. They wouldn’t
be able to process it here ...”
Cramer said. “I think that
was why we settled on five
[overall licenses] and just
two licenses for retail. We
wanted to limit the public
face of what was being sold
here.”
“They can’t go to Grand
Rapids, or they can’t go to
Holland or wherever it’s
grown, and buy it there? It
can’t be delivered here?”
Schellinger asked.
“If we’re allowing busi-
ness in our community, this
is a legal business,” Cramer
said. “Why wouldn’t we
allow them the opportunity
to grow their own product so
they can sell it? It cuts their
cost.”
Smith offered an analogy
to breweries.
“I just want to remind
everybody in the room here
that this is equally as legal as
a brewpub and/or a micro-
brewery,” Smith said. “We
have five outlets in this town
that you can buy alcohol, but
we’re limiting [marijuana
retailers] to two, so we are
being more restrictive.”
“If West Michigan
Beerhaulers or whatever
decided to put in a distribu-
tion center in our commer-
cial district and hire 400
employees, we’d probably
applaud that. I think that the
opportunity here is, what’s
the difference, other than it’s
marijuana, and it’s a legally
sold substance in the state of
Michigan. I think the busi-
ness opportunity and the
ability to reach a market
where it will create jobs is
very high.”