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6 MONTH Moratorium on Caregiver Cultivation of Medical Marijuana – October 21 thru April 21, 2023

LEXINGTON TOWNSHIP

RESOLUTION 22-06

A RESOLUTION TO EXTEND THE EXISTING RESOLUTION 22-02

MORATORIUM ON APPROVALS FOR

THE CAREGIVER CULTIVATION OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND HIGH

AMPERAGE ELECTRICAL SERVICE PERMITS THROUGH APRIL 21ST 2023

                At a meeting of the Lexington Township Board held on the 22nd day of September 2022, this resolution was offered by Jahn and supported by Milletics:

                WHEREAS, on April 21st 2022, the Township Board adopted a resolution imposing a moratorium on approvals for the caregiver cultivation of medical marijuana and high amperage electrical service permits.

                WHEREAS, on September 22nd 2022, the Township Board extended the length of the moratorium so that it is now set to expire on April 21st 2023

                WHEREAS, the Township Board has become aware of the intent of various individuals seeking to use vacant buildings and homes within the Township for the caregiver cultivation of marijuana for medical use; and

                WHEREAS, the Township is vested with the authority to establish reasonable requirements and regulations in zoning various land uses in order to protect the health, welfare, and safety of Township residents; and

                WHEREAS, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled in DuRuiter v Township of Byron, 505 Mich 130 (2020), that the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act of 2008, MCL 333.26421 et seq (as amended), does not nullify a municipality’s inherent authority to regulate marijuana land uses under the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act: and

WHEREAS, currently, there are not any provisions in the Lexington Township Zoning Ordinance which explicitly regulate caregiver cultivation of marijuana for medical use: and

WHEREAS, the Township Board is concerned that without a moratorium any necessary amendments to the Zoning Ordinance could not be enacted in time to protect the health, welfare, and safety of the Township residents: and

WHEREAS, in order to protect the health, welfare, and safety of the Township residents, the Township Board wants to ensure that any necessary Zoning Ordinance amendments regarding the caregiver cultivation of marijuana for medical use has been properly enacted and become effective before any building permits, zoning permits, electrical permits, licenses, special land use applications, site plans, variances, or any other such approvals for any property within the Township are granted for any proposed caregiver cultivation of marijuana use operation and/or development project.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Lexington Township Board hereby declares a moratorium on a temporary basis, on the establishment, placement, construction or enlargement of any caregiver cultivation of marijuana for medical use operations within the Township and also on the acceptance, reviewing, granting, and/or issuance of any building permits, zoning permits, licenses, special land use applications, site plans, variances, or any other such approvals for any property within the Township regarding any caregiver cultivation of medical marijuana for medical uses operations to allow time to amend the Township Zoning Ordinance to provide for appropriate regulations; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Lexington Township Board further declares a moratorium on approvals by any Lexington Township official for electrical service permits in excess of 200 amperes, in the event that an applicant can prove that the electrical service is needed for a legal use of the property and that the electrical service is not for the purpose of raising marijuana, the Township Board, by a majority vote, may approve such service.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED this moratorium shall remain in effect for a period of six (6) months following the adoption of this resolution or until Zoning Ordinance amendments containing regulations for the caregiver cultivation of marijuana for medical use regulations have been adopted and become effective in Lexington Township, whichever comes first.

ROLL CALL VOTE

AYES: Rice, Partaka, McAllister, Milletics and Jahn

NAYS: NA

ABSTAIN: NA

ABSENT: Jahn

The undersigned Clerk of Lexington Township hereby certifies that this Resolution was duly adopted by the Township Board at a meeting held on the 22nd day of September 2022.

                                                                                ___________________________________________

                                                                                Doriann Rice. Clerk

                                                                            22-06 Moratorium on Marijuana Extension

                                                                            

April 28, 2022 in Uncategorized

Lexington Township History

The history of Lexington Township starts with the passage of two pieces of legislation.  The first piece of legislation was the Land Ordinance of 1785 that provided for the sale and survey of public lands west of the Appalachians, north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River.  It also created a system which divided the land into townships.  The other is the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 which created a style of government for these territories and a method for these territories to become states.

From 1787 to 1803, Michigan was a part of the Northwest Territory.  Then from 1803 until 1805, Michigan was part of the Indiana Territory.  But, in 1805, Michigan was separated from Indiana and became a territory in its own right.

With the end of the War of 1812, the Indian problems ended and British involvement in the fur trade stopped, pioneers began to pour into the Northwest Territory.  This resulted in new states being created, first Ohio and then Indiana.  When Indiana was admitted into the union in 1816, Michigan was allowed to become a territory, with government established at Detroit.  This also resulted in a baseline (east and west) and a meridian line (north and south) being established to survey for the creating of townships.  In 1822, Sanilac County was laid out and was attached to Oakland County.  The first mention of Sanilac County in official records is in the Territorial Laws of 1827.  A special act attached it to St. Clair County for judicial purposes.

On January 26, 1837, President Andrew Jackson made Michigan a state and in the same year Lexington Township was organized, making it the oldest township in the county.  Sanilac County also at that time included all of what is now Sanilac, Huron, and Tuscola counties.   An act of legislature on December 3, 1848, authorized the organization of Sanilac County as a separate county with Lexington as the county seat.  Lexington Township at this time included all of the present day townships of Worth, Sanilac, Buel and Elk.

The two municipalities within Lexington Township are the Village of Lexington and the city of Croswell.  The Village and the Township grew up together.  Lexington was the county seat and a major lake port until the county seat was moved to Sandusky in 1880.  The railroad coming to Croswell in 1879 turned that city into an important farm center for the area.  The great fires of 1871 and 1881 did not do a lot of damage to the township, although it did end the lumbering era for the area.  The historic storm of 1913 took out all the major docks in Lexington.  After which the building of the sugar and canning factories, along with the railroad made Croswell into an economic center for the township.

In the first half of the 20th century, agriculture, commercial fishing, and tourism were the major sources of income for the people of the township.  The automobile and better roads were changing the face of the township. By the end of World War II, the area along the Lake Huron Shore was a mecca for summer tourism.

Lexington Township also housed the Sanilac County Poor Farm built in 1868 and closed in 1958.

At the end of World War II, Croswell housed three separate German Prisoner of War camps.  They helped with the farming and worked in the factories.  They helped eased the U.S. Military cost of their care.

August 23, 2015 in Uncategorized