Council approves special-use permit for marijuana retail at 10th Street after site changes and traffic study

The Port Huron City Council approved a special-use permit allowing MS Industries LLC to operate a marijuana retail store at 1814 10th Street after the applicant revised its site plan following neighborhood meetings and a commissioned traffic study.

The council approved the permit by roll call (Council member Peyton: yes; Council member Archibald: yes; Council member Herrenza: yes; Council member Lamb: yes; Council member Moserick: yes; Mayor Anita Ashford: no). Council member Jeff Pemberton was not in attendance and submitted a written statement in support of approval that was read into the record.

Attorney Anderson Grandstaff, representing the applicant, told the council the company held a roundtable with city staff and nearby residents and made “fairly extensive changes to the site plan” in response to neighborhood concerns. Grandstaff said the revised plan removed two entrances and one exit on Division Street, consolidated ingress and egress to a single point on 10th Street, and added additional landscaping along property borders to mitigate sound and visibility. He said a traffic study circulated to council and neighbors concluded the facility “would not have a significant impact on the traffic in the affected area.”

At a public comment period preceding the vote, residents expressed both support and opposition. Supporters said dispensaries in other parts of the city had not produced the negative impacts predicted by opponents, and noted walkability and added street trees as positive outcomes. Opponents raised concerns about neighborhood character, property values and the store’s proximity to homes.

A representative for the applicant presented renderings and landscaping plans to the council and said the company removed a former drive-through canopy from the drawings to improve circulation. The applicant also said the southern property border will be lined with “very thick and hardy” plantings and that sugar maples would replace previous curb cuts where entrances had been removed.

City administration recommended approval. The city manager said the administration had reviewed the operations of existing licensed marijuana businesses in Port Huron and reported no evidence of increased criminal activity tied to dispensaries; staff did note isolated parking complaints for a downtown facility without on-site parking.

Mayor Anita Ashford explained her no vote at the roll call: “My no vote is not. I know it's the law. And, also, I'm not so much worried about how pretty you can make things. I'm more worried about people's lives than I am anything else.” The mayor did not specify a statutory basis for denying the permit and council proceeded to approve the application.

Council member Jeff Pemberton’s written statement, read for the record, said there was “no legally justifiable reason to deny” the special-use permit, noted the applicant had engaged the neighborhood and gone “above and beyond” what was legally required, and urged fair, impartial treatment of businesses.

The approval authorizes MS Industries LLC to proceed subject to the land-use approvals and any required permitting processes; the council did not attach additional special conditions during the vote. Technical permits, final site inspections and any needed traffic or zoning compliance follow-up will be handled by city staff.