===== PDF PAGE 66 =====
[Extraction: OCR (rendered-page OCR)]
CITY OF WEST CHICAGO
DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
ITEM TITLE:
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: __ ©: F.
Consideration of Text Amendments to the Zoning Ordi-
nance to allow Recreational Marijuana Dispensary and
Cultivation Centers
FILE NUMBER:
COMMITTEE AGENDA DATE: Sept. 9, 2019
COUNCIL AGENDA DATE:
4
STAFF REVIEW: Tom Dabareiner, AICP SIGNATURE <=
APPROVED BY CITY ADMINISTRATOR: Michael Guttman SIGNATURE
ITEM SUMMARY:
At the August 26, 2019 Public Affairs Committee meeting, members referred to the Development
Committee the consideration of the new recreational marijuana law as it applies to dispensaries and
cultivation centers. Under the law, the City has the ability to ban these uses within its borders or to al-
low them with reasonable conditions, i.e. the conditions cannot have the effect of banning the use.
Staff recommends the following characteristics be placed in a draft ordinance for consideration by the
Plan Commission at its November meeting:
e Recreational Marijuana Dispensaries should be listed as a Permitted Use within the B-2, Gen-
eral Business District. The dispensaries would cover both bud and infused product lines, and
any other methods for selling the active chemical found in marijuana.
e The City should limit the total number within the community to a maximum of two dispensaries.
e Separation requirements from certain sensitive uses should be included, such as schools, day
care, parks and churches, akin to those found in the Municipal Code for liquor establishments.
e On-site consumption should be prohibited.
e Recreational Marijuana Cultivation Centers should be listed as a Special Use in the M, Manu-
facturing District.
Currently, Medical Marijuana Cultivation Centers and Dispensaries are allowed in West Chicago as a
Special Use in the M, Manufacturing District. None are located within the City. While cultivation cen-
ters are functionally a good fit within Manufacturing, having a stand-alone retail business in Manufac-
turing is somewhat anomalous. In the Manufacturing District, any retail sales are generally ancillary to
a manufacturing use. Furthermore, the M District is generally less attractive for retail businesses and
retail customers alike.
The City’s B-2, General Business District is a better fit with a dispensary’s desire for small, stand-
alone, retail-oriented space. Staff did not consider the B-1, Central Business District as the available
space is often too small and generally not stand-alone. The B-3, Regional Shopping District offers
highly visible strip-center locations, with higher rents and larger retail spaces which are believed to be
less desirable to potential dispensaries.
Why not a special use? In reviewing the Findings of Fact for special use approvals, Staff does not see

===== PDF PAGE 67 =====
[Extraction: OCR (rendered-page OCR)]
distinguishing characteristics from a liquor store and other basic retail activities, which are considered
Permitted Uses.
Separation requirements are intended to provide some degree of buffer between uses deemed to be
in potential conflict with each other. Having a buffer is not required under the new state law, but it is
not uncommon for uses such as liquor stores, day labor agencies, food trucks and adult uses to have
required buffers from uses like schools, parks, day care facilities and sometimes churches. In West
Chicago, separation requirements from churches, schools, day care and parks range from 100 feet
door-to-door for liquor sales to 1,000 feet from property lines for adult uses. Liquor sales can be next
door to other uses—certainly across the street—thus, little buffer is offered there. An analysis of 1,000
foot buffers from various uses results in a handful of B-2 properties remaining available: in the vicini-
ties of North@Atlantic, Hawthorne@McQueen, Roosevelt@Washington and Roosevelt@Town. Less-
er buffers, such as 500 feet and 250 feet, were also analyzed and make significantly more B-2 zoned
land available, respectively. Staff recommends a 250 foot buffer from the property line which is easier
to measure remotely than door-to-door distances and has more in common with liquor stores than do
greater distances. Maps will be brought to the Development Committee meeting that show the various
distances related to impacted use.
Geographically, West Chicago is large enough to host more than one dispensary, especially if they
represent different product lines, although more than two is questionable from a market perspective.
Staff includes a proposed limit on the number of dispensaries to a maximum of two. Also, some dis-
pensary businesses would like to offer on-site sampling, but Staff is recommending a prohibition on
on-site consumption to deter mixing the activity with driving.
Not talked about a lot is the addition of recreational marijuana cultivation centers as a possible use.
The City allows medical marijuana cultivation centers as a Special Use in the M, Manufacturing Dis-
trict and this proposal would allow the same general activity although with a broader product line. Staff
proposes adding Recreational Marijuana Cultivation Center as a Special Use in the M, Manufacturing
District.
Based on the discussion at the Development Committee, Staff will draft any required text amend-
ments for consideration in November by the Plan Commission/ZBA.
ACTION PROPOSED:
Recommendation to Staff to draft an ordinance amending the City’s Zoning Code to list Recreational
Marijuana Dispensaries and Cultivation Centers for consideration by the Plan Commission/ZBA at its
November meeting.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: