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WARREN — The Warren Community Center auditorium was bustling on March 25 as many in attendance at the City Council meeting waited to comment on the future of marijuana dispensaries in the city.
The Warren City Council passed a resolution to change its marijuana ordinance with a 5-2 vote. Councilmen Dave Dwyer and Henry Newnan voted no on the resolution.
Newnan had voted yes on the first reading of the ordinance revision. In an interview after the meeting, he advocated for more strict law enforcement on drivers suspected of being under the influence of marijuana. Newnan was also concerned about normalizing the drug’s use around children. While he supported the council’s final decision, he felt conflicted about voting yes when the second reading came around.
“I believe the council did the right thing with the deck of cards we were dealt, in terms of trying to settle the marijuana lawsuits,” Newnan said. “But I ran as a recovering person. I talked to a lot of voters and said I am not particularly in favor of marijuana. I’m in favor of people recovering from drug addiction.”
Following the vote, City Council Attorney Jeff Schroder said the changes would need to be approved by the city’s legal department. The city attorney’s office would draft a final version. This would go to the clerk, who will publish the final ordinance.
“This is why we have two readings, so changes can be made,” Schroder said.
However, Mayor Lori Stone could choose to veto the changes. This would need to happen within 96 hours of council’s approval. This would halt the change and push it back to the council, which would take it up at its next regular meeting. The council could sustain the veto or override it with five votes.
Schroder gave a presentation about the rationale of the change. The issue dates back to 2019 and the lawsuit Pinebrook Warren, LLC et al. vs. City of Warren et al. Thirty marijuana businesses sued the city after the Warren Medical Marihuana Review Committee awarded 15 licenses behind closed doors. The 15 licenses were voided when 16th Circuit Court Judge Carl Marlinga ruled that the committee violated the Open Meetings Act. The lawsuit ping-ponged through the court system from there. The city tried to settle the case in 2020 and 2022, according to Schroder. To do this, all 30 parties would need to find common ground, which Schroder compared to “herding cats.”
“Right now, it’s sitting in the (Michigan) Supreme Court, and the circuit court is having hearings,” Schroder said.
The city’s changed ordinance seeks to resolve the central conflict by removing the committee from the process entirely and allowing an unlimited number of approved facilities to do business in specific areas. What businesses get approved would be up to the Building Department and any code violations would go before the Construction Board of Appeals.
“It’s industrial property: M1, M2, M3 or M4,” Schroder said. “It has to be 1,000 feet from a school or a school park, 500 feet from a residential lot line, 500 feet from a church or religious institution, 500 feet from a planned unit development and 500 feet from a park or library.”
A through line during public comment was concern about the ordinance allowing an “unlimited” number of properties in the approved zones. Schroder showed a map prior to public comment that illustrated areas where facilities would be allowed. Only a few small zones, marked in green, would permit the facilities.
“If you’ve been told it’s unlimited, that it can go anywhere in your neighborhood, you were misinformed,” he said. “But, in today’s climate, it’s not that surprising that something like that could happen.”
Not everything in the zones is likely to be in play. Schroder pointed out a green strip where the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command is located.
“I don’t think the Army is going to be interested in getting a license to sell marijuana in their commissary at TACOM,” Schroder said.
Public voices concerns, support
Prior to the vote there was robust public comment on the item. For most of the speakers who stepped up to the podium, changing the ordinance isn’t helpful. These speakers had an array of concerns ranging from the substantive parts of the ordinance to issues with the plant itself.
While the meeting drew those concerned about marijuana, 55.9% of Michigan residents approved recreational use in 2018 with Proposal 1. According to Schroder, 59% of Warren residents voted in favor of the proposal.
Barbra Cerda kicked things off, voicing concerns about an influx of crime. She said the increased revenue was good for the city, but that the city should look for additional funds elsewhere. Cerda hoped the council would reconsider approving the change.
“You don’t see other, more upscale communities approving unlimited facilities,” Cerda said. “There’s a reason for that. It draws crowds we really don’t want in our community.”
Attorney Chris Aiello, of the law firm Aiello & Associates, spoke in favor of the change. He praised the council for its work on the ordinance, saying the council “ended a potential nightmare of litigation” due to the intricacies of these lawsuits.
“It’s just not as simple as saying, ‘This council gave in to an unlimited number and it’s going to ruin the city,’” Aiello said. “That’s not true.”
Paul Havern spoke against dissolving the committee. He said the way to fix Warren’s problems would be to make the meetings comply with the Open Meetings Act.
“People in the city, and in the United States in general, they’re going to sue over anything,” Havern said. “I myself have found numerous cases of people suing over marijuana zoning ordinances. So you’re dreaming if you think the city isn’t going to get additional lawsuits. They’re just going to get different lawsuits.”
Many speakers complained about the odor the facilities give off. Robert Parsons disputed claims about the odor not being present around facilities. He encouraged residents to take action.
“If you smell it, call it,” Parsons said.
Shannon Summers spoke in favor of the ordinance, saying it is allowing the city to capture new revenue. She added that those at the meeting who were concerned about drug abuse should instead work to bolster social programs.
“You’ve got the wrong villain here,” Summers said. “We’ve got bigger issues when it comes to drug use.”
Many speakers spoke out against the drug itself. Michelle Chivers is concerned about peoples’ right to enjoy marijuana infringing on those who don’t use it. She called the plant “a gateway to the devil’s drug.”
“I hear snickers behind me, but it’s true,” she said. “It is not good for the community with kids and everything. I hear, ‘Oh, packaging, oh, safety for the children. They can’t get into it.’ I tell you what, kids nowadays are a lot smarter than us adults because kids can get into anything that they want to get into.”
Rami Kirma, who grew up in Warren, said that changing the ordinance is about settling a matter that already exists. Kirma followed the ordinance and applied for a license. He was one of the 15 businesses approved by the Warren Medical Marihuana Review Committee in 2019. He talked about the money lost being caught in limbo while the city found a way forward.
“The buildings remain empty through the litigation, and I’ve been paying the mortgages on them since,” Kirma said. “I couldn’t do anything with them because I no longer had a license. Nobody wanted to come occupy my empty buildings with me one day telling them they had to leave because I had my license.”
Kirma said he has since lost properties because of this, and the remaining properties are in the process of forfeiture. He said changing the ordinance is unfair to people like him who followed the process. Kirma said he got into the business after seeing it help his neighbor. He hoped attendees read more about marijuana.
“Everything can lead to harm if not used in the right conditions, just like liquor and I bet everybody behind me here has had a drink or two in their life,” Kirma said.
After Kirma spoke, Schroder said he got a “raw deal” and sympathized with what he went through.
Fliers urge residents to oppose change
Prior to the meeting, residents received fliers by mail urging them to oppose the ordinance change. The mailings came from an organization called Michigan Deserves Better, which is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit.
In a tax filing released by ProPublica spanning April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, Joe DiSano is listed as the organization's president. DiSano’s political consulting firm, DiSano Strategies, is based out of Lansing. DiSano is no stranger to Warren politics. His website lists former Mayor Jim Fouts as a former client and discusses his past work in a Warren treasurer’s race.
DiSano provided a statement on the fliers via text message.
“City Council just turned Warren into the Disneyland of weed,” DiSano said. “Unlimited pot shops will only increase violence and crime in Warren so concerned residents should call Mayor Stone and urge her to veto this reckless and dangerous ordinance.”
The fliers feature bold statements including, “Warren will become the pot capital of Michigan!” They warn of “marijuana malls” in the city and “unlimited pot shops.” They urge residents to call council members to advocate against the ordinance change.
Schroder talked about the “dark money” political action committee behind the fliers at the meeting. He said money can be given to these PACs to drive an agenda with little oversight.
“Whoever’s funding it can write as big of a check as they want and send out whatever information they want,” he said. “They’re not held to any truth standard. They can say whatever they want.”
He went on to say the entity responsible may not have the interests of Warren residents at heart.
“They don’t operate in Warren. They’re not for the benefit of Warren businesses, Warren taxpayers, Warren children or anybody else,” Schroder said. “They’re for the benefit of their own business.”
Joey Debrowsky said at the meeting that the drug should be criminalized unless the user has a medical condition. Despite his opposition, he’s concerned with the legal costs the city would incur if the Pinebrook lawsuit continued to languish in court. Debrowsky held up the fliers against the ordinance change that were distributed to residents as he stood at the podium.
“Whoever sent these out should be prosecuted,” Debrowsky said. “I would be willing to bet money they didn’t get permission from the parents of the little girl on this flier to reproduce this photograph and use it in this manner.”
One of the fliers shows a picture of a child. The text near the photo states, “Unlimited retail cannabis in Warren sounded great…until she overdosed on the gummies!”
Aiello called the fliers “false propaganda” when he stepped up to the podium and addressed the audience.
“On behalf of the industry, I apologize to you for having to come here and read that garbage and rubbish,” he said.
A new flier from Michigan Deserves Better made the rounds after council’s approval, asking Stone to veto the updated ordinance.
Look for more on this developing story at candgnews.com.
Call Staff Writer Nick Powers at (586) 498-1059.
