Pittsfield Township is imposing a moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries, provision centers or other businesses that distribute the drug while it determines where and if those operations fit into its zoning ordinance.

At its Wednesday meeting, the Pittsfield Township Board of Trustees unanimously approved the 180-day moratorium.

The move came after the Bulldog Provisioning Center, a medical marijuana dispensary at 625 State Circle, opened without a certificate of zoning compliance or other authorization, according to township officials.

After several citations, Bulldog applied for the zoning compliance, but the zoning administrator rejected the application because there's nothing in the township's zoning ordinance about the facilities and the township contends such facilities aren't legal state law.

Bulldog then filed an appeal with the Pittsfield Township Zoning Board of Appeals, and that Board reversed the zoning administrator's decision.

Township Attorney Jim Fink said the reversal prompted the township to pass the moratorium while it considers how and if to zone the provision centers and avoid a deluge of applications from other provision center owners wanting to open in Pittsfield.

Bulldog is operating in a form-based zone, which aim to encourage dense development and allow a range of designs to create more of an urban feel. They're mostly found in areas designated as development nodes in the township's master plan.

Denise Pollicella, an attorney with Cannabis Attorneys of Michigan representing Bulldog, said the business will continue to operate within the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act until state and local laws are sorted out. Patients can currently meet with caregivers to exchange medical marijuana though no sales are made at the shop.

She stressed that the company maintains a positive working relationship with Pittsfield Township, which she praised for taking what she said is a reasonable approach to understanding and discussing the issues.

"I was anticipating the moratorium and have absolutely no negative feelings about it," she said. "It was appropriate, and frankly the township, I think, after the ZBA decision, is dedicated to thoroughly discussing medical marijuana facilities and putting an ordinance in place so they can handle applications after this."

Township Supervisor Mandy Grewal declined to comment.

Last year the Michigan State Legislature was supposed to take up the provision center issue with the intention of bringing clarity to the law in regards to medical marijuana sales, but failed to do so before end of the legislative session.

Pollicella said there have been more hearings in the legislature in recent weeks and there's a growing consensus among lawmakers that the sale of medical marijuana should be allowed with clear regulations and guidelines in place.

"We are working very diligently toward a consistent, comprehensive state licensing and regulation process, and that process is to allow the retail sale of medical marijuana from provisioning centers to any qualifying medical marijuana patient," she said.

That issue, however, is separate from Pittsfield's zoning questions. Pittsfield Township allows medical marijuana grow operations in its industrial zones, but those are different than dispensaries or provision centers in that there are no sales, transactions or exchanges.

The Planning Commission will take up the zoning issues at a yet-to-be-determined meeting and make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees.