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Council overturns Planning Committee’s denial of building permit for marijuana store on 10th Street

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Council overturns Planning Committee’s denial of building permit for marijuana store on 10th Street

PORT HURON – A sixth marijuana retail store may finally open on Port Huron’s south side.

Less than a week after the city’s Planning Commission rejected plans for a cannabis bar at the corner of 10th and Division Streets, City Council members have reversed their decision.

City Manager James Freed cited potential legal challenges the city would face if the requested special use permit and rezoning of an adjacent property continued to be denied after the applicant attempted to use a temporary marijuana license as required by an ordinance passed by voters in 2020.

Councilman Jeff Pemberton, the commission’s representative on the city council, also later spoke of a “certain legal battle that we would lose” if officials had upheld the planning board’s decision despite concerns raised by some residents about the proposal.

Pemberton, one of nine members of the Planning Commission, acknowledged that he was not present at last Tuesday’s meeting when the marijuana store’s applications were denied. Three others, he said, were also absent. He said he was surprised to later learn that the application was denied and had been expecting the council’s decision on Monday.

“It should be a simple thing,” Pemberton said. “Sometimes, I’ve noticed at various commission meetings, there’s confusion about what our role is when it comes to a special use permit.” Despite continued voter support for marijuana initiatives in recent years, he added, “Nobody wants it right next door.”

Although the permit applicant, MS Industries, LLC, was not the original recipient named for the license at the 1814 10th St. site in early 2021 – that was Portage Acquisitions – operators can transfer the license to another company if they notify the city clerk’s office. Representatives for MS Industries did not respond to requests for comment.

According to the operator’s plans, MS Industries wanted to open a store in the former bank building and repurpose the adjacent property along Division as a parking lot. In the planning documents, the company is referred to as Leaf and Bud Port Huron.

It was not clear when the location would open.

Since the beginning of this month, at least two marijuana shops have opened – JARS Cannabis at Quay Street and Huron Avenue downtown and Moses Roses at 1600 Pine Grove Ave. The showroom at 1033 River St. has said it plans to open this week, while two other locations along Lapeer Avenue and 10th Street and at 515 Wall St. appear to still be under construction.

“We have four or five recreational marijuana stores in the city of Port Huron now. We haven’t had a single problem,” Freed said Monday. “They run a very tight-knit operation. We haven’t had any crime problems. We haven’t had any traffic problems. Frankly, I don’t know how they all survive. I hardly see anyone in some of them. It really hasn’t been as scary as we all expected. We’ve been pleasantly surprised. No problems with it.”

Contact reporter Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or [email protected].

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