Oxford’s first marijuana retailer gets ‘ok’ from village PC

Nicole Marshall, general manager of Lume Cannabis Co.’s Walled Lake location, spoke with the Planning Commission about day-to-day operations at Lume stores. Photo by D. Vaglia

By Dean Vaglia
Leader Staff Writer
The Village of Oxford Planning Commission approved Lume Cannabis Company’s site plans on Tuesday, Oct. 19.
The first marijuana retailer to go before the commission since the Village Council allowed marijuana businesses in September, commissioners unanimously approved Lume’s plan after about an hour of discussion with site architect Christopher Enright and Nicole Marshall, general manager of Lume’s Walled Lake store.
Lume’s operation in Oxford will be at 595 S. Glaspie St. and handle retail sales. Three shifts of eight employees (divided between six Lume staff and one to two security staff, depending on traffic) will work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Deliveries will occur outside of business hours via secure two-axle vans and security cameras will be present around the building and parking lot. New landscaping and building furnishings will be added to the site. There is no growing or processing component.
Commissioners had many questions for Lume’s representatives about various aspects of the plan, first among them parking. 595 S. Glaspie St. has 20 spots for on site parking, 12 of which will be for customers split between in-store shoppers (eight dedicated spots) and curbside pickup (four dedicated spots).
While the parking plan was deemed compliant by Planner Mario Ortega, commissioner Kelly Arkles was concerned with how parking would work during opening day and in the expected high-volume period following it.
“We only have 10 spots [at Walled Lake],” Marshall said. “We are able to navigate through that pretty seamlessly. As far as backup goes, we partner with a security company … They are out there navigating the traffic within our business. It’s a matter of partnering with them, communicating with our customers and our in-store operation running smoothly and getting [customers] in and out.”
When the Walled Lake lot fills up, Marshall said security directs traffic in the lot. Enright stated an agreement is being hashed out to allow Lume employees to park in Dry Coolers’ lot during high-traffic periods. Security guards will help keep customers from parking in adjacent businesses’ lots.
The landscaping plan also needs addressing based on commissioner Leslie Pielack’s comments. The number of trees exceeds the number allowed — though Enright said the number was lowered in updated versions of the plan — and some of the trees may be too tall for overhead electrical wiring. Pielack also stressed using non-invasive species for landscaping.
The landscaping changes are part of the contingencies attached to the commission’s approval. Other contingencies include approval from Oxford departments (such as fire and police), having the mechanical plan approved and submitting a revised site plan that addresses Ortega’s concerns.
Lume sells a variety of products including marijuana flowers, pre-rolled blunts, vapor cartridges, edibles and cannabidiol (CBD) products. Its 25 locations are mostly located on the west side of the state with the closest location being Walled Lake.
Arkles, who admitted to not being in favor of marijuana businesses, mentioned other small communities with Lume stores were happy with the company’s responsiveness whenever issues arose.
“All three [communities she reached out to] said you work really hard to make sure things are done right,” Arkles said.

One response to “Oxford’s first marijuana retailer gets ‘ok’ from village PC”

  1. The critics said it would bring the criminal element and bad people to Oxford. All i have seen is happy people obeying the law and bringing a lot of tax revenue to Oxford. So far so good these are mostly good people looking for a better way than big Pharma.

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