With Illinois poised to become the 20th U.S. state to allow medical use of marijuana on Jan. 1, the Department of Planning and Development is joining forces with Ald. Edward Burke (14th) to lay rigid ground rules in Chicago.
“It is our intention by enacting these zoning amendments that we will ensure a transparent process and full public participation,” Burke was quoted as saying in a press release.
“As the city of Chicago prepares to comply with the landmark change in state law which will allow the sale of medical marijuana to begin across Illinois next year, it is both timely and necessary to lay down a blueprint which spells out exactly how this new law will affect Chicagoans,” Burke said.
If the full City Council approves, Chicago’s zoning code would be amended to require marijuana dispensaries and “cultivation centers” to be located in manufacturing districts, known as “PMDs,” with a minimum number of parking spaces, depending on the size of the facility.
They would also be required to obtain special-use permits from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals. That would allow area residents to object. Chicago, which already tickets people caught using small amounts of marijuana, would also decriminalize medical marijuana under the plan.
The amendments introduced at Tuesday’s City Council meeting would be in addition to a state law, billed as the nation’s toughest.
It caps the number of growing centers at 22 — one for each State Police district — and prohibits them from opening within 2,500 feet of a school, day care center or residential area.