The Marquette City Commission in October of 2019 adopted Ordinance #682 to allow for the eventual operation of adult-use marihuana establishments in the City of Marquette. Per this ordinance, the City will begin accepting applications for these licenses on March 1 of this year.
In advance of the March 1 date, the Planning Commission has worked, in conjunction with City staff, to create recommended zoning regulations for adult-use marihuana establishments. The recommendations are detailed in the attached document, while the attached maps highlight the proposed locations where each type of establishment would be allowed.
Additionally, unrelated items are included in these proposed amendments, and are aimed at refining and clarifying the LDC, which was adopted in early 2019. While these changes are numerous, several serve to clarify certain sections of the LDC and to add or delete language related to items that were previously omitted; others involve the addition of certain other uses in specific districts.
These recommended changes were developed, discussed and refined during several work sessions during the final months of 2019, and were approved – with amendments – by the Planning Commission following a January 7 public hearing:
It was moved by M. Larson, seconded by E. Brooks and approved on a 4-3 vote, that after review of the draft Land Development Code (LDC) amendments presented as case 01-ZOA-01-2020, and after conducting a public hearing and careful consideration of the contents of the draft LDC amendments, the Planning Commission finds that the draft LDC amendments are justified and appropriate, and therefore should be approved by the City Commission with the revision to allow retail marijuana establishments in the T5 subdistrict of the Third Street Corridor form-based code district.
This public hearing was scheduled at the January 13, 2020 City Commission meeting and a joint work session with the Planning Commission was held on January 29, 2020 to discuss the recommended changes.