CALUMET TOWNSHIP — The Township Board announced today the adoption of Ordinance No. 46, which allows for retail sales in manufacturing-industrial districts without restriction.

The ordinance was adopted after a public hearing held on Dec. 28 at the Board’s regular monthly meeting, and will go into effect seven days after publication of its public notice.

Township Supervisor Tim Gasperich said the new ordinance amends a previous ordinance, No. 44, which allows retail sales within the manufacturing district, but with restrictions.

“It only allowed sales of items that were made, grown, manufactured in that district,” Gasperich said.

Ordinance No. 46 expanded on that ordinance in order to accommodate existing businesses in the M-1 districts.

The M-1, defined as Light Industrial Districts are designed to accommodate wholesale activities, warehouses and industrial operations whose external, physical effects are restricted to the area of the district.

Gasperich said that a sand and gravel company was hauling material into the district from other pits and selling it at their business site.

“We’ve got another company that sells computer covers,” he said. “They bring materials in, and create and sell them.”

Those were just two examples that prompted to Board to amend the ordinance, Gasperich said.

Gasperich said Ordinance No. 44 initially came out of the township’s marijuana ordinance.

At the May 26 regular meeting, Scott Dianda addressed the Board regarding opening a retail marijuana business in Copper City.

Dianda said at the time that the merchandise would come only from Michigan growers, and the facility would have local owners.

In order to permit such a retail establishment, however, the Board needed to amend the current Recreational Marijuana Ordinance. A motion was made by Trustee Paul Lehto to move forward with amending the current ordinance to allow a retail business was passed, but the marijuana retail store did not open.

Ordinance No. 47 was adopted at the October monthly meeting, which amended Ordinance No. 45 to provide for the issuance of Township operating licenses to state licensed marijuana retailers and limiting the number of Township operating licenses to three.

“They wanted to put a micro-business in there originally but that fell through,” Gasperich said, “and I think right now they’re looking at retail sales, so this adds a little bit to that, also.”

Gasperich said that the adoption of Ordinance No. 46 would help the Township to clarify and regulate the marijuana ordinances.

“If the marijuana facility ever does materialize, we will only allow them in our M-1 district to keep them out of town,” he said. “So, this would help them; they could bring items in and sell them out of their store.”

The complete text of the ordinance is available to the public for review at the Township offices, located at 25880 Red Jacket Road.