The ordinance approving the operation of licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in primarily office districts was passed by a majority of council at its March 15 meeting.

Evans said after the ordinance officially went into effect April 6, parties interested in opening up a dispensary operation in East Lansing could apply for a license but could not acquire one because of the moratorium.

She said removing the moratorium now that the ordinance is in place would help move the process of allowing dispensaries to open in the city forward.

“It just seems like the practical thing to do is to go ahead and terminate (the moratorium) so the process for caregivers and licence fees can begin,” Evans said.

East Lansing Mayor Vic Loomis said the discussion likely would consist of whether or not the moratorium should stay in place or if it should be lifted. He said lifting the moratorium at this point made sense because the majority of council already made the decision to enact an ordinance allowing for dispensaries within city limits.

“The majority of council has approved the ordinance,” Loomis said. “Why continue a moratorium?”
Council also is scheduled to formally discuss the city’s budget for the 2012 fiscal year at 5 p.m. in a special work session prior to the regularly scheduled work session.

Loomis said the process by which council members review and edit the budget is a lengthy and in-depth process and said discussions on how best to move forward with the budget will continue until the council approves a budget in early May.

He said in his initial review of the budget, he didn’t see any major components necessary for change at this point but said the budget likely would see some changes as more information regarding the impact of the state’s budget and other factors come to light.

“I think it’s going to be a pretty normal process, with a couple tough decisions along the way,” Loomis said.

Also slated for discussion at the work session is proposed changes to an ordinance regarding snow removal on residential properties.

The proposed changes would include a tiered fine system for repeat offenders who don’t shovel their snow on multiple occasions, East Lansing Assistant City Manager Marie McKenna said.

McKenna said the proposed snow removal ordinance, while similar to the party litter ordinance passed by council in its April 5 meeting, might have a wider impact on all residents of the community because of the obligation for everyone in the neighborhoods to remove snow from sidewalks.

“It’s not exclusively a student issue — it’s a wider issue,” McKenna said.