Tinley Park Board Members Continue To Work Through Recreational Cannabis Dispensary Challenges

Country Club Hills IL

23 November, 2020

4:02 PM

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From the Richard Free Press: By Jon DePaolis TINLEY PARK, Ill. — Despite some snags, Tinley Park continues to move closer toward bringing an adult use recreational cannabis store to town. The Village of Tinley Park Board of Trustees heard from Village staff about the challenges surrounding the issue Tuesday, Nov. 17, during a Special Committee of the Whole meeting. Hannah Lipman, a management analyst for the Village, said staff contacted 12 potential businesses that had previously expressed interest in opening an adult use recreational cannabis dispensary in Tinley Park. Of those, Lipman said the Village ultimately received two completed applications to vie for the one available local license. But she said staff also received concerns from cannabis businesses, such as how the State is awarding the cannabis licenses and how the Village's preference on a business occupying a standalone building in town is affecting the process. "There are a limited number of properties available," Lipman said. "Right now, the way that this is zoned, there really [aren't] any properties in the Village limits that these facilities could potentially buy and start their establishment at." Lipman said staff was seeking feedback from the board members about "next steps." "Would the board consider a different location [or] adjusting the parameters of the zoning a little bit?" she asked. "Right now, we have a requirement that it should be a standalone building. Would we consider it in more of a strip mall or something that is not standalone?" Village Attorney Patrick Connelly said the recreational cannabis industry "is one of the few businesses that revenues are up across the board, especially brick and mortar." "A lot of towns that have these in place are recouping those taxes now, so I think you'd want to move quickly," he said. But Connelly noted that when looking at other towns, staff has seen cannabis businesses struggling to find standalone properties. He also said several communities had ballot questions asking residents if they supported allowing recreational cannabis stores in their town, and the majority passed. "So, I think you're going to see more of these," Connelly said. "I think you work with the businesses that you have [that have completed applications]. And, perhaps, if they have other locations that may not fully meet [the board's initial direction], then maybe bring that back to the board and see if they are willing to look at variances or changing the code." Connelly said that when the Village Board decided to move forward with allowing a recreational cannabis dispensary to locate in Tinley Park, "I think you'd want them up and you'd want them quick and you'd want to start getting the money out of it." "And there's money to be made there," he said. At Trustee Michael Glotz's suggestion, staff was given direction by the board members to allow Lipman and Connelly to work with the two applicants, research any zoning challenges and get more information on the state license approval process. Outside of the cannabis discussion, during the Village Board meeting held later in the evening, the trustees voted 6-0 to approve a new chronic nuisance property abatement ordinance. At the COTW meeting that preceded the official vote, Tinley Park Police Chief Matthew Walsh said the chronic nuisance property abatement ordinance will allow the Village to "better monitor local businesses and properties." Under the ordinance, a property will be considered a "chronic nuisance" when three or more violations occur within 12 months, he said. "The chief of police must make notification in writing to the person in charge of the property that it is becoming a chronic nuisance," Walsh said. "The properties that are deemed a chronic nuisance will face a fine of not less than $500 and no more than $700 per day. They also will be required to close for not less than five and no more than 30 consecutive days. Each day a violation continues to occur, it will be considered a separate and distinct offense." Later in the meeting, the Village Board members voted 5-0 to amend Village code to allow liquor sales to begin at 9 a.m. on Sundays. Trustee Cynthia Berg abstained. Mayor Jacob Vandenberg said the change will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2021. He also said that Tinley Park's municipal code did not previously allow the sale of alcoholic beverages before noon on Sundays — with the exception being for golf course liquor license holders, who could sell alcohol on Sundays at 8 a.m. "This ordinance amends the municipal code to permit the sale of alcoholic beverages beginning at 9 a.m. on Sundays for all other licensed establishments," Vandenberg said. Richard Free Press is a one-stop destination for the news that most affects you, the southwest suburban resident. Be an informed citizen of the town you live in and love.