Cannabis Businesses Now Allowed In Bolingbrook

BOLINGBROOK, IL — The Bolingbrook Village Board has reversed course on its 2019 decision prohibiting cannabis businesses in the Village. At Tuesday's board meeting, trustees voted to amend the zoning and village code to allow cannabis businesses.

The new ordinance permits certain cannabis businesses to operate in the village if they are granted a special use permit, Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta said during the meeting.

According to board documents, cannabis dispensaries will be allowed in B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4 and I-1 zoning districts; and cannabis cultivators, craft growers, infusers and transporters will be welcome in I-1.

The village may attach conditions for the businesses, like additional security, lighting, parking and landscaping, Alexander-Basta said.

Dispensaries cannot be located within 1,500 feet of another dispensary, and cultivators and craft growers can't be located within 1,500 of another cultivator or craft grower.

Cannabis businesses also can't be located within 500 feet of a pre-existing school.

Trustee Sheldon Watts said the majority of the feedback he had received had been from people in favor of this coming to the community, with the right parameters surrounding it.

"This is uncharted waters for us," Alexander-Basta said, adding that some have asked why the village has changed its mind.

"We didn't know what it was, it wasn't legal," Alexander-Basta said. "We didn't know the process, we didn't know how it was handled, we didn't know what impact it would have on crime or anything else."

Village Co-Administrator Ken Teppel told Patch Wednesday that the Village has not been approached with a formal request for a meeting to discuss opening a dispensary in town. He added that there have been comments made by individuals mentioning they are interested in coming to Bolingbrook once they awarded paperwork from the state.

Recreational cannabis has been legal in Illinois since the start of 2020. At that time, many towns opted out of allowing cannabis businesses, but Bolingbrook is not the only suburb to recently change course on its original decision. New Lenox recently decided to allow cannabis businesses in its town as well.