This week at City Council, Mayor Lightfoot introduced an ordinance establishing cannabis zoning requirements, creating clear guidelines for zoning of recreational dispensaries and ensuring new, equitable business growth across the city.
The new ordinance establishes seven cannabis zones citywide that include the entire geography of the city. The zones will initially cap the number of dispensaries to ensure equal distribution of dispensaries across the city.
The ordinance establishes that all new cannabis zoning applications will be heard by the Zoning Board of Appeals, which ensures that local residents near an applicant will have a voice in where new sites are approved to operate.
The ordinance will also include an exclusion zone in the Central Business District in which no cannabis sales will be permitted. In accordance with state law, the use of cannabis products will be prohibited in all public places citywide and by youth under 21-years-of-age.
Alderman Reilly was on WGN Radio to discuss his take on the Mayor’s new ordinance.
Source: Reilly Reports 9-20-19
