NILES — The Niles Planning Commission received insights into what a proposed medical marijuana grow and provisioning center may look like at its Wednesday meeting at the Niles Fire Department Complex.

Up to 6,000 plants could be growing at one time within the first few years of opening, said George Lynch, co-owner of Green Stem, LLC.

The business was approved for a local license by Niles City Council on May 22. Now, it needs a special land use permit to build on the site of the former Simplicity Pattern Company on Wayne Street.

George and his wife, co-owner Denise Lynch, spoke with commissioners for most of the meeting. The other major agenda item, reviewing the city’s new master plan goals and objectives, was postponed because three commissioners could not attend the meeting.

The master plan will be reviewed and Green Stem’s proposed land use permit could be voted on during the commission’s next meeting on July 24.

The grow and processing operation, if approved, would take place in a 55,000-square-foot section of the factory.

While its 6,000 plants could make for a green scene, Denise assured commissioners her business would have a near unnoticeable presence.

“We asked them to keep the Simplicity signage on the building because it is historically accurate,” she said. “There will be no signage whatsoever that Green Stem is in our building. There will only be our logo and a small sign on our door that cannot be seen from the street.”

If Green Stem’s permit is approved by the city, its provisional growing and processing license will become official, and the company would become a Class C facility. Among other things, that means Green Stem can grow 1,500 marijuana plants, but Denise said her company plans to grow 6,000 plants thanks to a Michigan law.

“Once we begin harvesting the 1,500 plants, we’re going to, in turn, stack the license and do another 1,500,” she said.

The Class C allows Green Stem to get additional licenses to grow 1,500 marijuana plants each time if it can show it has a successful grow and $500,000 in capital. Eventually, George said, the grow facility might expand to reach 100,000 square feet.

There is a chance that the Lynches could have company in the property. The couple said that three other groups are interested in the property to grow marijuana.

“The facility is absolutely perfect for growing cannabis,” George said.

Denise said the factory has high ceilings, allowing for adjustable lighting to help the plants maximally grow. A suppression system is also available.

The factory also provides massive power when its electric system is utilized, Denise said.

“There is so much power there,” she said. “There are seven substations within the building, and it has its own power station outside.”

Committee member John DiCostanzo raised concern over this, not because Green Stem would use the power, but because the power is not provided by the city’s utility, meaning no revenue for the city is generated.

The high power allows the business to split up the plants into sections of 1,000, each with its own necessary systems for tending. This, Denise said, helps prevent cross-contamination.

“Each room is anti-microbial, anti-mold, anti-fungus, and they’re all completely independent,” she said.

A sample must be taken from every 10 pounds of marijuana grown, per state law. The sample would be taken to a lab in Kalamazoo to ensure no contaminants exist.

Commissioners and residents will have the chance to ask Green Stem additional questions about its facility during at 5:30 p.m. during a July 24 planning commission meeting at the Niles Fire Station Complex. The commission could vote on the permit then.

Prior to Green Stem’s commission presentation, Community Development Director Sanya Vitale spoke to the commission about space concerns for the Niles-Buchanan YMCA.

The nonprofit is slated to complete a capital expansion in 2020 that would include a youth center, teen center and gymnasium.

Concerned the expansion could lead to increased traffic accidents and less parking, Vitale and City Administrator Ric Huff looked at the last 20 years of accidents in the area. They found that accidents, already low, dropped further when the YMCA moved to its current location in the 2000s.

Vitale said she asked the YMCA to open more parking if membership to the facility significantly increased.