ANN ARBOR, MI - Another medical marijuana dispensary is slated to open near the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor.
The city's Planning Commission voted this week to give special-exception zoning approval for a new dispensary at 617 Packard St., near Hill and State streets, a stone's throw from UM's Ford School of Public Policy and the UM Law School.
The dispensary has the OK to move into a house that's been a commercial building for many years, replacing the Pastry Peddler Bakery & Cafe, which is on the ground floor, and PJ's Used Records, which was upstairs and recently closed.
There are 2,112 square feet of floor area between the two spaces. The dispensary will use the entire building.
The company behind the dispensary plans to invest roughly $210,000 into renovating the space.
Ankur Rungta, a 35-year-old Ann Arborite and UM alumnus, appeared before the commission this week seeking approval for the dispensary on behalf of his company, QPS Michigan Holdings LLC of Novi.
"I live here in Ann Arbor with my wife and my two children," Rungta told commissioners. "I've been here for a long time. I went to undergrad and to law school at the University of Michigan. This company, QPS Michigan, has now been approved at the state level for licensing. We're excited to have this opportunity."
Rungta said he's expecting most of the dispensary's customers to come from the immediate area, including some UM students.
He said there isn't a name for the dispensary yet, but he hopes to have it open by early 2019.
He and his partners also are getting ready to build a 33,000-square-foot marijuana cultivation and processing facility in Webberville, off Interstate 96 near Lansing. He said they also have cannabis business ventures in Portland and Boston.
The 617 Packard site is in the center of the Packard/Hill/State triangle and is surrounded by retail businesses and restaurants. There also is a large amount of student rental housing nearby.
"Within the triangle are at least three former houses now buried in commercial additions that have been present for at least 50 years," City Planner Jill Thacher wrote in a staff report, noting there also are rental houses and apartments across the street.
There is no automobile parking on the site, though there is metered parking available on Packard, Hill and State streets. Some bicycle parking spaces are being added.
Thacher said the city's traffic engineer had some concerns, but those have been addressed.
"This area is a tough area for pedestrian-vehicle crashes especially and it will be studied next year using a federal grant," Thacher said. "And the petitioners have been responsive by promising to do things like provide bus passes to their employees, put in the extra bike hoops ... but really it's sort of a pedestrian-centered retail location."
Thacher said the city's staff determined a marijuana dispensary there would be compatible with the rest of the surrounding block, which includes a liquor store and Baba Dari Mediterranean Grill. She said there haven't been any concerns voiced by neighbors.
The city's Planning Commission has approved these 24 marijuana dispensaries so far this year:
- Ann Arbor Healing Center, 3720 Washtenaw Ave.
- Arborside, 1818 Packard St.
- Arbors Wellness, 321 E. Liberty St.
- Bloom City Club, 423 Miller Ave.
- CannArbor Inc., 2019 W. Stadium Blvd.
- District Arbor 1, 3005 Packard Road
- Exclusive PR Center, 3820 Varsity Drive
- Green Planet, 700 Tappan St.
- Greenstone Society, 338 S. Ashley St.
- Huron View, 3152 Packard Road
- Liberty Gallery Inc., 702 S. Main St.
- Liv Cafe N Wellness, 603 E. William St.
- Medicine Man of Ann Arbor Inc., 2793 Plymouth Road
- Northside Narnia, 811 N. Main St.
- Om of Medicine, 111 S. Main St.
- Parkhurst Services, 3294 Winewood Ave.
- People's Choice Alternative Medicine, 2247 W. Liberty St.
- Pure Roots LLC, 3430 Washtenaw Ave.
- QPS Michigan Holdings LLC, 617 Packard St.
- Scientific Method Holdings II Inc., 1115 Broadway St.
- Stadium Ventures Inc., 2460 W. Stadium Blvd.
- The Rabbit Club, 450 S. Main St.
- TC MI Ann Arbor 2 LLC (TreeCity), 1958 S. Industrial Highway.
- Treecity Health Collective, 2730 Jackson Ave.
Some of those, including Green Planet and Liv Cafe, are in close proximity to the UM campus.
The City Council has chosen to limit the number of marijuana dispensaries at 28 for now to see how things go as the growing cannabis industry increases its presence in Tree Town.
The city expects to reach the 28-permit cap soon with other dispensary applications in the pipeline.
In addition to Planning Commission zoning approval, dispensaries need building compliance approval, permit approval through the city clerk's office and license approval through the state.