A file photo of Three Rivers City Hall. The Three Rivers City Commission held a public hearing on two proposed marijuana retailer special exception use permits during their meeting Tuesday.
By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
THREE RIVERS — Two owners of proposed marijuana retailers in Three Rivers made their case to commissioners for possibly accepting their special exception use permit applications during a public hearing at Tuesday’s Three Rivers City Commission meeting.
Jevin Weyenberg and Steven Kilano, owners of the proposed “Cannabis Outlet” at 745 S. U.S. 131 and the proposed “Gramz Three Rivers,” located at 223 N. U.S. 131 respectively, briefly discussed their business plans and why they want to locate in the city to commissioners. Both permits were given recommendations for approval at the Sept. 25 planning commission meeting, contingent on changes being made to plans to satisfy the planning commission and the city.
No action was ultimately taken on the permit applications, as the retailers still need to make the aforementioned changes to their plans before the applications are put to a vote. Mayor Tom Lowry said those votes could happen as soon as the city’s next meeting on Oct. 17, but as of now a date has not been set.
Weyenberg, who co-owns seven other marijuana businesses across the state, mainly in the Kalamazoo area, gave a rundown of why he went into the marijuana business and why he wanted to set up in the city. He said his chemotherapy treatments for cancer about a decade ago were in Three Rivers and that cannabis use he had helped get him through the process and helped him get better.
He said he expects to hire 15 employees at the business, which would be located between Wild Bill’s Tobacco and Subway in the shopping center across from Meijer, noting later that they all would be full-time positions, and described how there would be 24/7 security monitoring at their location. Weyenberg added his businesses have also been heavily involved in the community, being named “Gold-Level All-Stars” in the state’s Social Equity All-Star Program.
Following his brief presentation, First District Commissioner Pat Dane asked him why he wanted to set up along U.S. 131 within walking distance of several other marijuana retailers. Weyenberg responded, saying it was because of the traffic U.S. 131 gets, plus the overall demand for recreational marijuana, comparing the demand for it to alcohol.
“I don’t like using [the alcohol] analogy for cannabis for a lot of things, but for the demand part of it, I think it’s relevant,” Weyenberg said. “If you ask yourself how many places in town serve alcohol or sell alcohol, there’s substantially more than six, I’m sure. I think the usage rates between alcohol and cannabis are very similar. So, six stores doesn’t really worry us. We’re happy to compete with those stores.”
At-Large Commissioner Lucas Allen then asked if he plans on hiring people from Three Rivers for the store, with Weyenberg saying they would be doing interviews in the city.
“We will definitely be doing the interviewing first and foremost in the city of Three Rivers,” Weyenberg said. “We have to build the store out, so we’re a few months away from doing something like that.”
Allen later asked Police Chief Scott Boling if having as many marijuana retailers in the city has been having an impact on crime numbers. Boling said that while all the retailers have been “very well run,” he did not have any data on the impact of marijuana on crime. Allen said as long as crime is not negatively being affected by marijuana, when it comes to having marijuana retailers in the city, “The more the merrier.”
Kilano, in his presentation to the city, said he wanted to set up in Three Rivers because he “absolutely fell in love” with the city and what it has. While he said he “wouldn’t call it a gamble” to set up in the city, he calls having a marijuana dispensary a “service” to residents.
“I understand your concern, having too many, but to me it’s like a service to people. It helps their needs, depression and medical, and I know we can’t state medical facts about it but a lot of people say that and it’s getting around. It’s helping people get over their addiction to pills and things like that,” Kilano said. “If we could save one person, I think we did our job. I think that’s really beneficial to a lot of people in the community.”
He said they will also have comprehensive security measures in place at the store, located next to the Goodwill drop-off site in the River Crossings Plaza, and that the store will have a “modern contemporary” look on the inside and bring in quality product. Overall, he said he wants to bring a “positive vibe” to the city.
“We just hope we have a good time over here, and just bring a good positive vibe over here and take care of the community,” Kilano said.
Fourth District Commissioner Carolyn McNary said she appreciated that marijuana businesses have now become “established businesses” in not just Three Rivers, but in other communities as well.
“When I was growing up, children were watching their parents go to jail for having marijuana and selling marijuana, and the demand was just as great then,” McNary said. “Now we have something to support the business, we have testimonies, and kids didn’t have that back then because the law was all over the marijuana products. That’s one thing about the businesses that I think is going to help in our future, because I don’t think they’re going anywhere.”
At-Large Commissioner Torrey Brown praised the regulation the marijuana industry in the state has and the testing that is done to make sure the product is safe for all to use.
“Before it became legal, you didn’t know what was in what you were smoking, so you were pretty much taking a chance every time you did it,” Brown said. “Now there’s so many regulations with [marijuana] and it has to be tested so often and it’s regulated so well that it’s pure. I think that having it come from an establishment as opposed to someone standing on a street corner is beneficial, and also our police don’t have to worry as much about people standing on a street corner selling.”
Dane, in her comments during the public hearing, once again railed against the number of marijuana shops in the process of being set up in the city.
“I find it amazing we have more marijuana shops now than we have banks in Three Rivers, or grocery stores, or gas stations. That’s unbelievable, and we want to add two more?” Dane said. “I find it kind of unreasonable.”
If approved, the two businesses would be the seventh and eighth marijuana retailers to have a location in Three Rivers, which includes the yet-to-be-opened Joyology.
In other business…
- Commissioners approved referring proposed rules for the upcoming downtown dog park to the city’s planning commission.
- Commissioners approved purchasing a 2024 John Deere Gator through Greenmark Equipment for $15,809 to be used to aid in operations around the Wastewater Treatment Plant campus.
- Commissioners approved the listing of delinquent accounts receivable and delinquent utility bills receivable for the city.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@threeriversnews.com.