By Dean Vaglia
Leader Staff Writer
Oxford Village — The Village of Oxford Planning Commission approved two dispensaries at its Tuesday, May 3 meeting. The two businesses are respectively the first dispensaries to operate outside of the Glaspie St. industrial area and the first to require the construction of a new building.
Hazel Park-based Skymint will build a 2,712 square foot retail building on the 2.55 acre 400 Glaspie St. property. The building’s architecture is set to have a “board and batten” style, and the landscaping plans call for much of the existing woodland to remain in place. The site plan was unanimously approved by the six members in attendance; Kelly Arkles was absent.
“We just did not want to get anywhere near [the wooded area],” Peter Grace, associate general counsel for Skymint, said. “We did not need it. I thought it would be a little moronic to be selling marijuana that you grow and then we clear a bunch of wooded area.”
While all dispensaries thus far have proposed — and in the case of Lume, implemented — a guided shopping experience, Skymint plans to let shoppers navigate the showroom at their leisure. Customers are required to present identification and sign in upon entry before accessing the showroom.
According to Grace, Skymint designed the site plan around servicing 170 people “per day at the busiest time at the busiest day.” As such the starting parking lot will accommodate about 23 people, though building capacity will be determined on the final building. Skymint expects to have eight employees on site at any given time and three curbside pickup parking spots.
Skymint’s approval conditions are security plan approval, installing a curb, adding pavement markings, including external lighting, making landscaping changes as directed by Planning Commission Vice Chair Leslie Pielack and meeting any additional requirements made by the fire chief and village engineer.
AEY Capital had its second dispensary plan approved, this time for a 3,200 square foot Jars Cannabis retail store inside a 7,200 square foot building at 592 E. Lakeville Rd. The plan was approved 5-1, commission member Jonathan Nold providing the lone “no” vote. Approval conditions were the final approval of an odor control system, security plan approval.
Jars does not want to use a dumpster for its garbage at the Lakeville Road store, preferring to use a handcart in order to better control access to the site’s waste. Non-marijuana trash will go into the handcarts while marijuana waste will be mixed with a different material per state law.
“When you look on the site where the position of the dumpster is … it becomes a little more challenging to monitor and control as opposed to [x] is in that building and in that space,” Andy Andre, Senior Development Manager for architectural firm Avanti Development Group, said.
Six parking spaces will be dedicated to in-store shoppers while there will be two for curbside shoppers and five for employees. On-street parking is not allowed along Lakeville Road.
The Remax at 53 S. Washington’s application for a new sign was unanimously approved on the condition a dimmer control module is installed on the sign. The 30 square foot wall sign will face M-24 and replace the temporary sign with a channel cut illuminated sign reading “Remax Defined” and feature the real estate company’s hot air balloon.