ANN ARBOR, MI – After two decades in business at 1251 N. Main St., Hawkins Auto Body may close, giving way to a budding industry.

Plans are in the works to transform the Ann Arbor repair shop into a medical marijuana dispensary with a sleek new look.

“They’re hostile taking me over, running me out of here,” said owner Jeff Hawkins, who isn’t happy about it.

Hawkins has been in business 34 years and at the North Main location for about the last 20, he said.

He mostly restores old classic cars, but also helps out the occasional college student or old lady who needs a quick repair, he said.

Hawkins isn’t sure where he’ll go from here, but he doesn’t expect to find another spot in Ann Arbor.

“They’re just buying everybody out,” Hawkins said of the growing number of marijuana dispensaries in Ann Arbor.

Hawkins’ landlord is giving him 90 days to get out once the deal goes through, he said.

The twist: His landlord is his father, who gave in when a medical marijuana business started “flashing big money,” he said.

Exclusive Brands LLC, which already has city approval for a marijuana dispensary at 3820 Varsity Drive, is proposing another one on the North Main property.

The company’s plans hit a snag at the Ann Arbor Planning Commission meeting Tuesday night, Jan. 15, failing to secure enough votes due to concerns about the driveway configuration.

Commissioners suggested changes to be discussed by city planners and traffic engineers.

“We’ll modify it any way they want,” said Harry Hawkins, who acknowledges he intends to boot his son from the property to make way for the marijuana dispensary.

A real estate investor and owner of West Hawk Industries in Ann Arbor, Harry Hawkins said his son’s body shop isn’t doing well enough to pay the property taxes, which he pays, and he thinks his son can find a new place in perhaps Milan, Dexter or Chelsea.

“I’d like to just clean up that area and make it look nice for the entrance to Ann Arbor,” he said, indicating the dispensary plans to invest about $200,000 into fixing it up.

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The commission voted 5-4 in support of the dispensary Tuesday night, but it needs six votes to pass.

The five in favor were Shannan Gibb-Randall, Lisa Sauve, Scott Trudeau, Julie Weatherbee and Wendy Woods.

The four against it were Zachary Ackerman, Erica Briggs, Sarah Mills and Alex Milshteyn.

The property is located along the west side of North Main, across from the Lake Shore Drive entrance to the Argo Pond area and next to the Bluffs Nature Area. The dispensary’s plans have sparked concerns about traffic safety on a busy stretch of road off M-14, where rush-hour traffic backs up.

Jeff Hawkins said he’s seen a number of crashes there over the years, and his property has served as an unofficial turn-around spot for many motorists trying to navigate the corridor.

City staff recommended denial of the dispensary’s plans last July, but on Tuesday suggested conditional approval, based on the proposed changes.

The dispensary worked with the city’s traffic engineers to come up with a plan for modifying the driveway by adding a raised curb in the center, so motorists could make only right turns in and out.

While she’s not against a marijuana business there, Briggs said she is against a driveway configuration that allows only right turns into the site, because she thinks drivers will still try to turn left, posing a potential danger. She suggests traffic engineers consider allowing left turns into the site.

Other commissioners considered the raised curb proposal an improvement, if not ideal, and said they trusted the city’s traffic engineers.

A representative of Exclusive Brands described the site as an eyesore, and said the company hopes to transform the site and create a positive addition to Main Street.

There is no public sidewalk along the west side of North Main and the dispensary would have to add one along the site.

The dispensary’s proposed hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

There was some talk of not having it operate during afternoon rush hours, but the city decided against that.

Ann Arbor has approved 25 medical marijuana dispensaries, along with four processing facilities, three grow facilities and one safety compliance facility. The city has capped the number of dispensaries allowed in the city at 28 for now.

The city plans to work through the issues with the North Main dispensary proposal before moving on to other dispensary applications, said Brett Lenart, the city’s planning manager.