PEORIA, Ill. – City of Peoria administrators have a lot of feedback to go through when it comes to how and to what extent recreational cannabis dispensaries can locate in the city.
The area currently has five pending applications for dispensaries, and some have locations in mind.
Speaking of potential locations for dispensaries…
“I’d like to change the permitted use — that’s the only one we have — in an industrial park, to a special use like we have in the rest of the city,” said Council Member Dennis Cyr, Dist. 5.
Other council members wanted to see, for example, a change to the length of time a special use permit is issued. Dist. 4’s Andre Allen is one of those.
“I think it puts us in a weird predicament where essentially we are having our hands tied by someone who may not ever materialize (applicants who may get permits but never open up shop),” said Allen. “I want to be respectful for other potential business owners in the space, who may be looking to set up shop here in Peoria.”
Allen also raised the possibility of not worrying so much about dispensaries being less than 1,500 feet from one another, as is the case now under state law.
“Maybe it might be better to have these dispensaries in a concentrated area, similar to car dealerships. That might be the best business model for that industry, and it might be the best for community. Time will tell, so I just want us to be very careful of what guardrails we are looking to put around this industry.”
One council member wanted to see state revenue for cannabis dispensaries be used for things like behavioral health or lung cancer treatment.
No final decisions have been made, but Mayor Rita Ali also wants public input.
“I’m just wondering if we might find a vehicle for getting ground-level input from the residents of the City of Peoria as it relates to whether we should limit recreational cannabis, their feelings on on-site consumption, additional zoning or distance limitations, and social equity applicants,” said Ali, suggesting something like the survey used to determine potential interest in the proposed Chicago-to-Peoria passenger rail line.
It’s an industry, city officials say, that has seen annually increasing registered users locally, and statewide, continually increasing revenue.
