Port Huron board rejects permit for marijuana shop at 10th, Division streets

PORT HURON — Plans for a new marijuana retail shop at 10th and Division streets were rejected by planning commissioners this week.

However, what that means for the operator, who’d utilize a provisional license approved by the city in early 2021, remains unclear.

On Tuesday, Port Huron’s planning commissioner denied a special use permit for MS Industries, LLC, for a cannabis business at 1814 10th St. and a commercial rezoning for an adjacent parcel at Division that would’ve been used for parking.

In an email on Wednesday, Planning Director David Haynes said the denials were “due to concerns about added traffic on Division Street and the impact on the residential area.”

The approval would have marked the sixth special use permit for a local marijuana establishment OK’d by planning commissioners under zoning rules.

Among the five approved so far, at least two have opened up for business with others in development or advertising imminent openings. Those OK’d include establishments JARS at Quay Street and Huron Avenue, Moses Roses, 1600 Pine Grove Ave., the Exhibit, 1033 River St., the High Club at 10th Street and Lapeer Avenue, and another establishment at 515 Wall St.

Marijuana establishments are allowed under licensing rules prescribed in an ordinance approved by voters in November 2020. Applications were scored and awarded in early 2021 before litigation briefly tied up green-lit operators from moving forward.

Messages to MS Industries representatives were not immediately returned this week.

The 10th Street site has been vacant for several years and was most recently a credit union. Plans submitted to the city referred to the establishment as Leaf and Bud Port Huron.

MS Industries was not the original approved provisional licensee whose application named that address — that was Portage Acquisitions — but holders can transfer the license to another entity if they notify the city clerk under the 2020 ordinance.

According to city agenda documents, a few residents had raised concerns about MS Industries’ plans ahead of Tuesday’s meeting.

Resident Tyler Moldovan wrote in supporting the cannabis business but shared “significant concerns regarding the excessive parking provisions included in” the operator’s proposed plans.

In an email, resident Nancy Sopha wrote she supported neighbors who may be against the rezoning to accommodate parking. “Quite frankly, I think we are up to our ears in pot shops down here and wonder why the north end does not have to suffer with these busineses. I also wonder if that is why so many homes in our area are up for sale. I think we have more of these shops than we need in a town this size and wish there was a way to deter these businesses.”

Contact reporter Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannnet.com.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Port Huron board rejects permit for marijuana shop at 10th, Division streets