Those wishing to sell marijuana in Westland have until July 16 to submit a business application to the city.
Members of the Westland City Council approved the marijuana business application during a meeting last month along with the consideration policy and selection criteria.
The policy, which officials said was written in compliance with the Westland Uniform Marijuana Business Ordinance approved by city council members in November, sets the window for applications from June 1 through July 16. Complete applications must be submitted along with a $5,000 fee if they are to be considered. The policy also details the way in which applications will be processed and scored.
Applications will be sorted by license type: Collocated Businesses (three licenses available); Marijuana Micro Businesses (one license available); Safety and Compliance Facilities (further sorted by proposed zoning district, one license available); Secure Transporters (one license available);Retail/Provisioning Centers (further sorted in relation to Ford Road, two licenses available - one north of Ford Road, one south of Ford Road).
All licenses are subject to Special Land Use approval and will require final approval by members of the city council.
Once sorted, applications will be reviewed and scored by a selection committee comprising three city administrative employees. The selection committee will assign point values based on the scoring rubric included with the policy. Ties within the applicant groups will be ranked based on financial investment and community benefit and investment. Any applicants who remain tied after the prioritization of these criteria will be placed in a blind lottery draw to determine ranking, according to city officials.
Once scoring is complete, the applicants will be notified of their ranking and the list will be provided to the Westland City Council. Each applicant will have the right to appeal their score within 10 days of notice with the Marijuana Business Review Board. After hearing all appeals, the board will issue a written recommendation that either upholds or modifies the list which will be placed on the agenda for members of the city council to review.
"I appreciate the hard work everyone has put into this over the past 10 months," commented Mayor William R. Wild. "Both my administrative team and the city council acknowledged the importance of maximizing the economic benefit of this decision and our final policy product reflects that commitment."
All of the information about the Westland marijuana ordinance and policy can be found at www.cityofwestland.com.
