Three Oaks Township adopts marijuana zoning rules

THREE OAKS — The Three Oaks Township Board on May 8 approved an amendment to its Zoning Ordinance to permit adult-use marijuana facilities in the C-1 Commercial and I Industrial districts as special land uses.

In the case of “Marihuana Grower,” that use could be permitted as a special land use in either the Industrial and AG-RR Rural Residential Agriculture districts.

“Marihuana Retailer” special uses can be permitted as stand-alone entities only in C-1 districts (and as an associated use with another such as grower, processor or other permitted uses in Industrial districts).

Other types of facilities that can be permitted (and the related zoning districts) include: Marihuana Microbusiness (C-1 Commercial); Marihuana Processor (C-1 Commercial or I Industrial); Marihuana Safety Compliance Facility (I Industrial); Marihuana Secure Transporter (I Industrial); Marihuana Grower (I Industrial or AG-RR Rural Residential Agriculture).

Marijuana entities are prohibited from being established within 1,000 feet or less from a preschool or child care center, and that same distance from a public or private K-12 school.

The commercial and Industrial zoned areas in the township are located along U.S. 12 east and west of the village limits with another small area north of the village along Three Oaks Road.

The zoning amendment also includes sections detailing requirements related to licensing, applications, site plans, security, odor control and landscaping.

“I thank all of you who have been involved in this process from the get-go,” said Township Supervisor George Mangold.

The Township would still need to pass a regulatory/application process ordinance covering marijuana-related businesses before the new set of rules would take effect 30 days hence.

That step could be taken at the June 12 Township Board meeting.

Also on May 8, the Three Oaks Township Board received an update on Phase II of the Spring Creek School project.

Board member Chris Mitchell said the $150,000-plus project is nearly completed (complete with a bathroom), adding that the building may be ready in time to host the June meeting.

The board agreed to the latest payment of $44,447.50 for the project (with $2,082.65 of that from the General Fund). Mitchell said he plans to meet with those who have pledged donations to the effort to make sure that money is received.

In other May 8 Three Oaks Township Board business:

• Options to repair a damaged observation deck at the township’s nature preserve along Forest Lawn Road (with estimated prices ranging from more that $5,000 to about $13,000) were discussed, although no action was taken. Mangold said he planned to talk with Pokagon Fund Executive Director Dan Petersen about the deck (that organization originally supported the project).

• Township residents were urged to remove objects from Forest Lawn Cemetery before May 12 when an annual clean-up project is set to begin.

• The board OK’d spending up to $1,600 for a pallet of Easy Street Asphalt cold patch material to use on damaged roads at Forest Lawn Cemetery.