Belleville planners approve site plan for pot shop

At its first meeting since last December the Belleville Planning Commission heard a two-hour presentation on the site plan for a marijuana dispensary at 510 Savage Rd. and then unanimously approved it with conditions.
The Aug. 12 meeting was by Zoom and six members of the commission were present, with Henry Kurczewski and Matthew Wagner absent. There is a vacancy on the commission.
The conditions imposed include any products to be disposed of must be kept inside the “cage” in the indoor product storage area, closing time is 8 p.m., three-foot-tall planter boxes are the right height of several noted to conceal the 2’x2’ cement blocks, and motion activated lighting.
Before that motion, Commissioner Michael Renaud made a motion, which was unanimously approved, to allow the shop to have a wooden fence with arbor vitae in front of it and cement blockades behind instead of a masonry wall along the side of the property facing Village Park.
Sam Pernick said Sabah Rabiah, the owner of the property which they are leasing at 510 Savage, owns a 30’ strip of land between the shop and the park, which gives them some setback. The ordinance calls for a fence or wall, but the planning commission could give approval for the fence.
Architect Alan Ogle said he did 38 similar buildings last year and is on 22 right now and, as a designer, he stresses to them all not to make it look like a compound.
Pernick began his lengthy presentation by explaining he and his partner Nick Rifel presented the detailed site plan to the city on Feb. 22 and have received feedback from the city manager and DPW director. Pernick also presented an addendum to the plan at the meeting.
He said they have an agreement to lease the property from Rabiah and will comply with Belleville ordinances.
They have tentatively decided to name their first facility in Belleville, “Home Town Provisions,” which is a fairly neutral name. “People might not know if it’s a pot shop of marijuana facility as they drive by,” he said.
Pernick said they are raising funds from friends and family and so they are not able to build everything permitted now so they are starting with their first phase, a marijuana retail store.
He said they would also like to have a designated consumption tasting room because people might buy something and go home and find it’s not what they wanted. The consumption room would give them a chance to taste it out, he said.
But, they are not able to have that now and it will come in another phase.
He said the shop will be advertised online.
Pernick said the State of Michigan requires all sales to be tracked from seed to sale, so they can collect all the tax revenue and they can try to crack down on black market products.
He said they are only a retail store now and they will purchase from wholesalers across the state. He said they have an inventory record-keeping plan, a “metric” that tracks everything they’ve bought and sold and what they have in inventory.
In general, he said, they will have for sale cannabis buds/flower, “trim” to make cookies and brownies, edibles, CBD oil products, tinctures, lotions, and devices for use, such as bongs.
City Manager/Police Chief Dave Robinson said some of the products will have THC, but the CBD products traditionally don’t contain THC.
Pernick said they are not licensed as a medical marijuana store, but the products are the same and people can buy what’s helpful. He said epilepsy patients use products higher in THC and some patients need a CBD product only.
He said the products are not just for using recreationally, but a person might not have a medical marijuana card or the medical marijuana store is too far for them to travel to.
He said a person has to be 21 years or older to enter the store. And they are screened in the entryway before being buzzed inside. He said the staff will be highly trained and honest and aren’t going to do anything improper.
“Our butt is on the line, so to speak,” Pernick said of the business, adding the staff will be treating people with respect and following the law. He said if employees try to get away with anything, they’ll be gone.
He said a consultant will be training the staff for at least two weeks and there will be between 10 and 15 employees full time and part time, but it could be up to 20 because of the long hours.
“We intend to hire Belleville residents first,” he said, noting it would be $17.15 an hour starting pay with health benefits. After Belleville residents are hired, they would go on to Van Buren Township residents. He said they are prioritizing hiring of veterans.
Pernick said there are two primary owners of the business, himself and Rifel, who has a master’s degree from the University of Michigan.
He said security will have multiple layers with security people on hand and security cameras inside and out recording every inch. Since this is a cash business there are provisions using an armed vehicle to pick up the product and deliver the payment, as well as trips to the bank. The two safes in the building will be bolted to the floor.
Pernick said the business will be supportive of local community events, such as food drives, school supplies, adopting a stretch of highway to keep clean, neighborhood associations, and the like.
He also stressed public health education and will not sell marijuana to those who it may harm, such as pregnant women. He said there are studies showing side effects that are harmful to pregnant women.
“We’re interested in trying to make money, but we don’t want people to use the products in ways that may be harmful to them,” Pernick said.
He said they plan to put aside $10,000 for scholarships, but after much discussion, he said he would defer to the city on how to work out the details. He said his friend is the mayor of Oak Park and there they had a scholarship for children of police officers. That was his model, he said.
City Manager/Police Chief Robinson said he wants to avoid any appearance of impropriety by singling out Belleville employees for scholarships because the city oversees the business. “Not employees,” he said, suggesting Belleville High School students could be invited to write essays about the marijuana industry.
Pernick said they expect to be spending $100,000 in license fees to the city of Belleville.
Pernick said they have a waste disposal plan as required by the Marijuana Regulatory Agency on how to dispose of anything if they happen to have to throw something away. He suggested they might have to dispose of stale edibles, but nobody will be able to go through their garbage.
There will be no chemicals since they won’t be growing anything yet, but potentially will in the future. He said the wholesale price of marijuana has fluctuated and there is a lot of cultivation. He said the wholesale price plummeted from $2,000 a pound to $700 a pound. He said it’s cheaper to buy from others. He said it costs $400 to $500 a pound to produce.
“We could apply for cultivation in the future,” he said.
Outgoing commission chairman Steve Jones said they would have to come before the commission for every phase.
Commissioner John Juriga said three beehives were lost by a neighbor when a Harris Road grower threw waste in the yard.
Architect Ogle said the state requires the way to dispose of waste. He said it is gated and locked and moved and moved again and bagged and tagged. He said there are only items spoiled and will be ground up like compost.
“We would never let waste disposal get on somebody’s property,” Pernick said.
He said they have measured the distances to the schools and the closest one is 1,000 feet away. They are almost 2,000 feet away from Owen and 3,600 feet away from BHS.
“We are going to surround the facility with 2’x2’x6’ concrete barriers,” he said, noting that people try to ram a truck into a building and take a product, like in Detroit or Flint. “We think it will deter the major issue for “smash and grabs.”
The windows will be replaced with glass block windows for more security.
When newly elected Commission chairman Michael Hawkins asked about the number of buildings on the site, Pernick said there were four separate buildings, the front building and three warehouses. “Some are connected, so we feel we have to secure them all,” Pernick said.
After the site plan was approved, Pernick said, “God bless you all.”
Architect Ogle said he got his degree from the Lawrence Institute of Technology and his thesis was on Belleville, Michigan. It was an award-winning design.
“This is just the beginning,” City Manager/Police Chief Robinson said. “Just know we will make them comply with the ordinance.”
Pernick said this is their first store and he thanked everyone. “I can tell you we will not let you down.”