Opposition arises to recently-adopted marijuana ordinance

STEVENSVILLE, Mich. (WNDU) - Residents in Stevensville are asking the village council to repeal a recently adopted ordinance that will allow marijuana retailers to come to the area.

“A lot of us are opposed to another marijuana store in our area. We currently have 14 stores in a 12-mile radius and so we feel like there is plenty of access,” said Chairman with Friends with Stevensville Mary Jo Tomasini.

The group, “Friends of Stevensville”, is made up of concerned citizens, who filed a petition with the Lincoln Township Clerk on December 7 in opposition to the ordinance.

Now, they are requesting a ballot proposal to determine if voters want this establishment in the village.

“And we will be on the May 2 ballot for the ordinance proposal that we have,” said Tomasini.

The group showed up at a village council meeting Wednesday to continue making their voices heard.

They say the council “disregarded the will of the people.”

“We would like you to reascend that ordinance and perhaps do some more studies, give it some more time, show our group why you have to have a marijuana store...what other forms of revenue you’ve pursued,” said Tomasini.

“When you saw the number of taxpayers here who were against this, we made one simple recommendation to table it, and I don’t think it was unreasonable...Do more research because I think it caught a lot of people off guard. It really caught a lot of people off guard. I know you said it was on your website...but not everything reads these things,” said another resident.

During Wednesday night’s meeting, one council member made a motion to repeal the ordinance, and another seconded it, but then there was debate as to whether they could legally add an item to the agenda.

Residents hope the village council will repeal it at their next meeting, so it doesn’t have to go on the May ballot.

The village recently adopted an ordinance for marijuana, with the hope to use some of that revenue gained to fund millions of dollars worth of road repairs.

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