BH Planning Commission hears about NOBO request, unable to hold vote

bentonharborcityhall149157
bentonharborcityhall149157

A request from NOBO in Benton Harbor for a special use permit in order to offer products to more customers is on hold after the Benton Harbor Planning Commission this week didn’t have enough members on hand for a vote. NOBO has dropped one of its medical marijuana licenses to get another recreational license. The company’s Cathy Pyle told planners this makes sense as marijuana, in general, is now legal in Michigan.

“We still have a medical license, and we will keep that license so that we can continue to have it,” Pyle said. “We had two license and we’re down to one, and that license will stay there for now. We’re just adding another adult use so we can increase the county to offer to more people what we’re growing.”

Pyle said the company’s products aren’t changing. Some members of the commission were skeptical of allowing more sales, with City Commissioner Juanita Henry saying the plan is “greedy.” However, there couldn’t be a vote on the matter because Henry and Mayor Marcus Muhammad both declined to vote as planners, reserving their votes for when the full city commission takes on the issue. With some vacancies, that meant six affirmative votes were not present. Planning Commissioner Eddie Marshall said it was a waste of time to hold the meeting if there couldn’t be a vote.