Illinois Aldermen Setting Dispensary Zoning Regulations

Aldermen in Chicago are again in talks about where medical marijuana dispensaries can be located within city limits.

They have stated that dispensaries will not be permitted in transportation corridors, manufacturing districts, and many locations which are home to a mix of houses and small businesses. These suggestions will be discussed at an upcoming city council meeting on Wednesday.

Dispensaries would be allowed to operate in the majority of business districts, as well as locations downtown as long as they aren’t primarily used for shopping or residences.

Under state law, dispensaries are already forbidden from opening within 1,000 feet of schools and day care centers. This also includes areas that are primarily residential.

In order to open a dispensary, licensees would have to obtain a special use permit that has to be reviewed by the Zoning Board of Appeals. And if obtained, the request still has to be reviewed by the town alderman, and he can typically choose who gets a permit and who doesn’t.

Officials have also stated that they will only permit one cultivation center to provide for all of the state’s dispensaries, and it has to be at least 2,500 feet from any school or day care center. With all of the new regulations still under discussion it looks like dispensary openings will most likely be delayed until the beginning of 2015.

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