HARBOR SPRINGS — Dispensaries aren’t coming to Harbor Springs — at least not yet.

But during Monday’s city council meeting, city manager Victor Sinadinoski told the council about a letter a Ypsilanti attorney, Anderson Grandstaff, sent about bringing a recreational marijuana citizen’s ballot initiative to the city.

Sinadinoski said the attorney is representing an unnamed client and that there is a plan to start a petition to put recreational marijuana on the ballot. The goal of the letter was to see if the council would be interested in passing their own ordinance without going to ballot.

The ordinance language they are looking at would include the allowance of one license for a marijuana retailer in Harbor Springs that would be renewable annually. A scoring system would be implemented for the selection of an applicant. There would be a maximum application fee of $4,900, the seller could not be within 1,000 feet of a school and there would be an option to establish a community benefits program for people disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibition.

According to the Harbor Springs City Code, the “establishment and operation of any and all marihuana establishments” is prohibited within city boundaries.

In order to get the ordinance on the ballot, the group advocating for it would need to get signatures from 25 percent of the city’s eligible voters.

During public comment, multiple residents spoke against the idea of bringing a dispensary or other seller to the area.

“We don’t need this in Harbor Springs,” Allison Larson said via Zoom. “There are plenty of options in Petoskey to go to to buy marijuana if you choose. I think it would really detract from the quality of our city.”

Larson also pointed out that Grandstaff has sent letters to other Michigan towns with the same goal to get an ordinance passed, including Coldwater and Howell.

Mayor Matthew Bugera said the only benefit he could immediately see from passing an ordinance would be a kickback from the state.

Kathy Motschall said if they are interested in gathering signatures, Grandstaff and his client can work towards that and the city can “deal with it at that time.”

She said if people weren’t interested in bringing it into the city, then they shouldn’t pass anything at this time.

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Marinda Miller spoke during public comment as well, speaking against the potential ordinance.

“I’m actually kind of horrified that anybody here is actually considering bringing in marijuana this easily into our community,” she said.

Miller spoke about her concerns with fentanyl in the community.

“I think you need to leave Harbor Springs alone at this point and please don’t bring it into our community,” she said.

— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Attorney asks Harbor Springs to consider recreational marijuana ordinance