Eastpointe council denies amended special land-use for 24545 Gratiot medical marijuana site

The Eastpointe City Council voted 3-2 on June 17, 2025, to deny a proposed modification to a previously approved special land use for a medical marijuana provisioning center at 24545 Gratiot (Parcel IDs: 02-14-30-251-068-069-070-071-035). The motion to deny, adopted after extended public testimony and presentations by the applicant’s team, was based on two findings that the council read into the record: that the modification was not harmonious with the master plan and that removing planned demolition and remediation reduced the project’s compatibility with adjacent uses and its improvement to the community.

The decision matters because the site was one of the properties the city previously approved under its medical-marijuana licensing process, and applicants argued the changes were a financial response to a collapse in the medical marijuana market. Opponents — including planning and licensing committee members — said the revised plan significantly reduced the scope of redevelopment that won the project points in the original scoring.

Council members and staff spent more than an hour on the item, hearing from the applicant’s attorneys and design team, the property owner, and planning and finance officials. Attorney Will DeSessa, representing Common Citizen (the applicant), said…