Weed Sales Legal In Plainfield If Board OKs Ordinances

PLAINFIELD, IL — It could only be mere hours until recreational cannabis is legalized in Plainfield.

Among the business on Monday night's Village Board meeting are two items regarding marijuana: approving new amendments to the village's zoning ordinance and instituting a cannabis retailers' occupation tax of 3 percent.

If the Board passes the zoning amendment, it will officially permit the legal sale of recreational cannabis within Plainfield by repealing and replacing an existing code that was implemented four years ago to ban recreational dispensaries from opening in the village.

Cannabis legalization comes before trustees eight months after April's consolidated election, when Plainfield residents voted in favor of allowing recreational cannabis in the village. The referendum passed by a slim margin: 1,558 residents were for it, and 1,527 were against.

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The 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, Patch reported. Officials said "this would be easily obtained" given the limited amount of B3 zoning within the downtown area — most of it is zoned B5.

Should trustees approve the ordinance Monday, the two dispensaries would be charged a 3 percent tax beginning on July 1, 2024. The village would begin receiving distributions after the following October, according to documents.

The 3 percent — the maximum tax rate that can be imposed by law — would be taken on top of state sales tax and Plainfield's home rule sales tax.