Edens Plaza Pot Shop Permit Plan Passes Wilmette Village Board

WILMETTE, IL — Village trustees cleared the way for a cannabis retailer to apply for permission to operate a pot shop in Edens Plaza.

The Wilmette Village Board voted 5-1 Tuesday to amend the village code to allow for a single cannabis dispensary within the shopping center's zoning district. All trustees voted in favor of the ordinance, while Village President Senta Plunkett voted against it.

Village Manager Mike Braiman said the ordinance would allow for cannabis dispensaries as a special use with a series of regulations discussed by the board's land use committee and previously approved in principle by the village board.

"It does not mean that there's going to be a dispensary opening in Wilmette any time soon," Braiman said. "There would still need to be a lease agreement between the dispensing business and the owners of Edens Plaza, they would then need to apply for a special use, that would then have to go to Zoning Board of Appeals and then the village board for public feedback and approval."

No members of the public discussed the matter at Tuesday's board meeting, but four residents submitted emails in favor of the ordinance.

"We don’t plan on using the facility ourselves but we believe it’s important as an additional stream of revenue for the village," a Sheridan Road couple wrote, "we currently allow the sale of tobacco products and alcohol within the village, and products for the recreational and medicinal use of cannabis should be allowed to be sold as well."

Ahead of the January 2020 legalization of recreational weed in Illinois, the village board voted to impose a moratorium on any cannabis businesses in town.

In July 2020, the village board placed a referendum on the ballot asking voters, "Shall the retail sale of adult use recreational cannabis be permitted within the Village of Wilmette at a business licensed by the State of Illinois?"

And on Nov. 3, voters in the village voted 9,681 to 7,585 — or 56 percent to 43 percent — in favor of the question, according to the Cook County Clerk's Office.

In February, the village board referred the matter to its Land Use Committee, which discussed the issue in February and June and determined Edens Plaza was the only appropriate zoning district to allow for potential pot shops. In July, trustees took an informal vote directing staff to draw up the ordinance.

"This evening is the culmination of two years of a very thoughtful and methodical approach by the village board to study this issue from various aspects and solicit as much community input as we could and help formulate the board's decision," Braiman said Tuesday.

Since legalization, new cannabis dispensaries have opened in neighboring Northbrook and Skokie, while Evanston's existing medical dispensary is expanding. If another operator decides to open in Wilmette — and per-location revenue is not diluted when more licenses are issued — the village could expect to receive about $50,000 a month in tax revenue once it is operational.

State cannabis regulators have conducted lotteries to award new licenses, but a Cook County judge evaluating a legal challenge to the state's licensing scheme has put a hold on the actual issuance of licenses.

Plunkett emphasized any future special use permit application will be subject to additional review and require board approval. Having discussed the matter at length in previous meetings, no trustees commented on the ordinance before the final vote.

"Have we flushed this out over the last two years probably as much as we can until if and when we ever do get a business coming in for a special use?" Plunkett said. "I sense agreement on that."

Related:

• Trustees To Vote On Recreational Pot Permits At Edens Plaza
• Plan To Permit Possible Pot Shop In Edens Plaza Gets Green Light
• Marijuana At Edens Plaza Returns To Wilmette Committee
• Illinois Weed Sales Blaze New Record As Voters Welcome Pot Shops