Could Plainfield Allow Cannabis Sales After All? Board Mulls Amendment

PLAINFIELD, IL — As cannabis dispensaries continue to open around Plainfield, most recently in Oswego, the topic continues to be discussed and investigated in Plainfield.

The subject was discussed again at a Committee of the Whole meeting Monday night. During the workshop, village staff sought direction and input from the Board of Trustees on drafting a zoning text amendment that would incorporate some dispensaries in Plainfield.

The workshop comes two months after the Committee of the Whole discussed the advisory referendum that passed by a slim margin — 1,558 in favor and 1,527 opposed — in the April consolidated election in favor of allowing recreational cannabis in Plainfield.

The referendum went before voters nearly three years after the Village Board voted in favor of banning cannabis sales in the village, with just one trustee — Harry Benton, now a state representative — voting against the measure.

Village Administrator Joshua Blakemore joked Monday night that "we didn't get a ton of help from the referendum" but based on demographics presented at July's meeting, cannabis "may be a bit more supported in the community."

"Data presented [affirmed] that 58 percent to 62 percent of the overall population (all ages) support recreational marijuana," Development Director Jake Melrose wrote in a memo to Mayor John Argoudelis and the Village Board. "The age demographics also presented were affirmed, illustrating older populations are more split near 50/50 and as the age gets younger the more percentage for 'in favor' increases."

RELATED: Plainfield Cannabis Referendum Narrowly Passes

The current draft amendment would require dispensaries to obtain a special use permit and would only be allowed to operate in the B3 zoning district. It would also require the businesses to have a 250-foot buffer from pre-existing schools, daycares and residences.

Only two licenses would be allowed in Plainfield: one north of Lockport Street and one south of Lockport Street, and they would need to be 1,500 feet apart, according to documents. Officials said "this would be easily obtained" given the limited amount of B3 zoning within the downtown area — most of it is zoned B5.

Consumption of cannabis would be prohibited on-site at the businesses, which would also be required to charge a local sales tax that will not exceed 3 percent, according to the draft amendment.

The draft also establishes regulations for other cannabis-use facilities, including craft growers, cultivation centers, infusers and processors. Should any open in the village, they'd be subject to requirements similar to dispensaries and have to be located 1,500 feet away from any adult-use cannabis facility, which Melrose said at the meeting is similar to what the state requires.

"I think what [Melrose] proposed this evening and went over really puts us in line with what neighboring communities are doing," Trustee Richard Kiefer said, "and I think it just puts us on an even footing. ... There is a cap [to how many dispensaries can open], so at some point, whether it's in a few years or whatever, I think we run the risk of missing out if we want to use this as a revenue stream."

Trustee Patricia Kalkanis, on the other hand, said she is against dispensaries opening in Plainfield, citing a need for other businesses, including health food stores, movie theaters and urgent cares.

"I find it very concerning that this village at this point, if it were to approve a dispensary, what we have now is vape shops, massage spas and dispensaries with increased truck traffic coming through as well," she said, adding that she "doesn't understand the direction this village is going into with these types of agendas. It's almost, to a certain point, a little embarrassing this is what we're looking at and this is what we want, and there's so much we don't have."

Blakemore said the village has reached out to various companies, expressing an interest in their businesses opening in Plainfield, but it's sometimes a matter of "we take what's before us." When it comes to marijuana, Plainfield has a "cannabis end-user in front of us."

"It's this issue that we're that stuck in," Blakemore said. "We sit in between Naperville, Joliet, Aurora, right? All these towns that have taken some of these things that would have been nice to have had over the years, and the duplication piece comes into effect again. There's one here, there's one there, maybe they don't want to build one in between."

Argoudelis ruminated that it's even possible the additional revenue generated from dispensaries could attract other needed shops to come to Plainfield.

"There's a lot of good things that are happening," he said. "The best we can do as a Board is to create that welcoming attitude that hey, you want to locate in Plainfield, how can we work together to benefit our residents and help you be a successful business?"

RELATED: 1st Cannabis Dispensary Opens In Oswego

If the Board decides to move forward and allow recreational cannabis businesses in Plainfield, it likely won't be long until one opens, according to Blakemore.

"We have an applicant who I would expect, depending on what direction [it] gets the Board, is going to take a hard look at properties in town and probably would be moving a special use application either concurrently or if not too far down the line from the process of the zoning text amendment that would take place if the Board ultimately decides that we want to put these regulations in place," he said.

The interested applicant, Consume Cannabis, represented by Steve Weber, operates multiple stores in the Chicago area, including in Oak Brook, St. Charles and Chicago proper. Weber attended Monday's meeting and said he is "very, very confident that a store in Plainfield on Route 59 would do $6 million a year in revenue based on all the current metrics that I'm aware of [and] based on the traffic flow of the road."

By Argoudelis's rough math, the village would generate about $300,000 in revenue from the 3 percent it would receive on top of sales tax, he said.

"If we look at it in the way of that, which is it would simply go into our capital fund, and we would not be reliant on it for our general fund, then every dollar is a plus, that's how I look at it," Argoudelis said, adding he is in favor of adult-use cannabis businesses opening in the village.

Trustee Tom Ruane concurred, saying, "Whether the income from the sales tax is greater or smaller, the fact is, it's a greater tax benefit that we're getting per square foot than any other business in this town."