Editorial: Belleville changing – hopefully for the better

Local residents and business persons are concerned about what the new marijuana industry approved in the city of Belleville will bring to us. It’s sure to bring more traffic, says our Police Chief/Interim City Manager Dave Robinson. He will be keeping an eye on that.
Some businesses in the Industrial Park, where all of the marijuana businesses are to be located are being relocated to make a place for the new businesses.
Van Buren Township is considering an overlay district strip along Sumpter Road south of Belleville, all the way to Sumpter Township which starts at Bemis Road. This would be a place for the dislocated businesses to go.
It also would lay waste to the plan to keep the township south of Hull Road as agricultural. They say the agriculture could continue in the back of the strip, with the service businesses operating along the Sumpter roadway.
Some others are worried about the young people getting easier access to marijuana, which is legal for adults. It’s closer to the schools than they would like.
Maybe the businesses will bring more tax revenue to the city which is landlocked and can’t add too much development within its borders. That would be a plus. Change is a constant in growth and we can’t long for the good old days, even if they seemed more comfortably predictable