Niles City Council approves provisional certificates for new marijuana business

Published 10:30 am Saturday, May 14, 2022

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NILES — The Niles City Council approved provisional certificates for Class C grow and processing to Craft Hydroponic to conduct marijuana business activities at 901 Wayne St. last week.

The business submitted a complete application for Class C Marijuana Grower license — up to 2,000 plants — to the state, which has provided it with pre-qualification status. With its provisional license approved, Craft Hydroponic can pursue licensing with the state.

The City Council approved Craft Hydroponic for a provisional medical marijuana Class C license in October 2020 before it received its Special Land Use permit for marijuana cultivation in April 2021. Since then, Craft Hydroponic has been constructing its facility at The Simplicity complex, 901 Wayne St. 

The Simplicity complex is in the Industrial District and in a zone designated for unlimited marijuana licenses, meaning a competitive process for a provisional certificate or licensing is not required. According to Huff, the owner of the Simplicity building has been marketing it in hopes of bringing in marijuana businesses to use the space. Each marijuana business rents space from the building owner, and builds its own building within the complex.

State guidelines dictate that Class C growers are licensed to cultivate, dry, trim or cure and package marijuana for sale to a processor or provisioning center. 

“At Craft Hydroponic, we are a family-owned and family-operated business with generations of experience in cannabis culture,” reads a mission statement on the business’ website. “As cannabis legalization and marijuana acceptance has propagated state-by-state, we have been there. Our team has long been on the forefront of cannabis production knowledge and technology. As a licensed Cannabis Craft Grower in the State of Michigan, we are eager to share our passion for high quality cannabis strains and innovative cultivation techniques with our Michigan customers.”