It is unlikely that there will be a request to open a dispensary for medical cannabis in Flossmoor anytime soon.
Still, Flossmoor Village Board members took steps Monday to prepare for the day that someone may want to start selling medical marijuana in town. Currently, however, there are no locations in Flossmoor that meet the state’s restrictions on where cannabis dispensaries can be opened.
Trustees approved an ordinance spelling out the type of zoning that would be needed for a cannabis dispensary, hours of operation and what cannot be displayed on signs. According to the ordinance, dispensaries could be located in areas zoned B-2 for community business, which include the village’s downtown district.
But Scott Bugner, Flossmoor’s inspectional services administrator, said the state’s Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act, passed last year, bars dispensaries from being located within 1,000 feet of preschools, elementary or high schools, day care centers or homes or paid child care facilities. They also may not be located in houses, apartments, condominiums or areas zoned as residential.
Those state restrictions, Bugner said, effectively prohibit medical cannabis dispensaries from opening in any areas of Flossmoor currently zoned B-2.
In passing the ordinance, village board members admitted they were treading a fine line — they clearly do not want a cannabis dispensary in Flossmoor but did not want to impose restrictions so harsh that they might lead to a court challenge from someone attempting to open a local dispensary.
Bugner pointed out that other communities have passed more restrictive ordinances. Frankfort, for instance, prohibits drive-through service and locations within 1,000 feet of parks or houses of worship.
Flossmoor trustees went along with most of the recommendations from the village’s plan commission, which suggested sales only in B-2 zoning, hours of operation between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., and restrictions on signs at the dispensary – no images of cannabis or paraphernalia are to be displayed.
The board settled on different hours of operation than those recommended by the plan commission; trustees voted to go along with the state’s suggested hours of operation, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mayor Paul Braun favored the plan commission’s recommended hours and cast a “no” vote against the ordinance.
The 9 a.m to 9 p.m. hours “would have given us a negotiating point“ if a dispensary seeks to locate in Flossmoor, Braun said.
Bugner said the state has already approved 60 applications across Illinois for medical cannabis dispensaries as part of the pilot program passed last year. One application was approved locally for three south suburban townships – Rich, Bremen and Orland. Part of Flossmoor is also located in Bloom Township but all the village’s B-2 businesses are in Rich.
Bugner said it is currently not known where the successful applicant for those three townships will decide to open a dispensary. But anyone seeking to locate such a facility in Flossmoor needs to pick up a zoning application and that has not yet happened, he said.
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Homewood trustees approve medical cannabis zoning
Contact Tom Houlihan at [email protected]