Any future adult-use pot dispensaries in Naperville may need to be 250-feet away from a residential zone.
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That was the 7-2 decision made last night at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. The group also ruled that pot dispensaries would need to be 1,000 feet away from a primary or secondary school, and 1,500-feet from another adult-use cannabis business.
However there’s no such distance requirement from a childcare center, a concerning thought for some community members.
“With section 3.1 of this proposed ordinance there’s no distance requirements from preschools, daycare centers, learning center,” said Naperville resident Jim Kramer. “I find that totally unacceptable.”
City staff said since daycare centers are often located in non-residential zoning districts it could inadvertently limit the amount of dispensaries wanting to set up shop in commercial or industrial zone.
3 Options
Based upon a special cannabis meeting in June, Planning and Zoning commissioners were presented with three options on how far an adult-use cannabis dispensary could be from a residential zone. Option one was 0-feet, option two was 250-feet, and option three was 1,000-feet.
Of the 16 public commenters, the majority supported option three, as did commissioners Bruce Hanson and Krishna Bansal. They felt the plans presented to the commission needed more details and options and felt to vote on the matter Wednesday night would be rushed.
“[I] definitely would like to see a 500-feet plan, I would like to see the geographical situation, I would like to see the traffic control plan and what could be put in there, the queues and hours of operations,” said Bansal. “I would hate to rush into this decision today.”
However the other seven commissioners felt ready to vote on the subject, and went with option two, 250-feet.
Where Would The Pot Dispensaries Be Located?
Based on that restriction, the majority of eligible areas for a cannabis dispensary would be in the north end of Naperville.
At its June meeting, city council put a cap on potential dispensaries in Naperville at 3. GTI, the parent company of 3C Compassionate Care Center, the only medical cannabis dispensary in the city, would convert into an adult use cannabis dispensary, if city council decides to okay sales of adult-use cannabis in Naperville, according to city staff. That would leave room for just two more dispensaries.
Though council originally voted to opt out of sales, it is revisiting the matter after a referendum on the March ballot showed 53 percent of Naperville voters were in favor of recreational marijuana sales.
For now city council will review the Planning and Zoning Commission’s decision, which also includes limiting adult-use cannabis hours from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., at a future meeting.
Naperville News 17’s Christian Canizal reports.
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