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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3. Medical Marijuana 09/09/2014Village of Mount Prospect Community Development Department MEMORANDUM TO: VILLAGE MANAGER FROM: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR DATE: SEPTEMBER 2, 2014 XanI SUBJECT: ILLINOIS MEDICAL CANNABIS PROGRAM — MOUNT PROSPECT ZONING The State of Illinois recently passed regulations which permits both the production and dispensing of medical cannabis within Illinois. The Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act (or Act) provides guidelines for where facilities which are participating in the program can be located. The Act established a four year trial period for the program which has been modeled after similar successful programs in other states. Additional legislation would be required to be passed by the State legislature to continue the program beyond the introductory period. This memorandum is being provided to offer a brief overview of the Act, the potential impact to Mount Prospect, and to discuss how the Village should treat uses governed by the Act. To date the Community Development Department has received several inquiries from potential operators inquiring on the Village's regulations towards dispensary locations under the program. Registration Under the Act, the Illinois Department of Public Health will be required to issue registry identification cards to qualifying patients and caregivers. The identification cards would only be issued to patients who have received prescriptions from a physician for a debilitating medical condition and meet the established application requirements. Registration would limit the patient to utilize a single dispensing center to obtain the product. if approved, the qualifying patient is required to carry the identification card at all times and has a note placed on their driving record to indicate they are a registered patient. Qualifying individuals would be limited to obtaining a maximum of 2.5 ounces of product over a 14 day period. Further, any employees working at facilities which produce or distribute medical cannabis are required to be licensed and undergo a significant background screening process. Cultivation Centers The Act defines cultivation centers as "facilities operated by an organization or business that is registered by the Department of Agriculture to perform necessary activities to provide only registered medical cannabis dispensing organizations with usable medical cannabis." In short, these facilities are controlled environments to grow/manufacture the products and distribute to the retail location. No sales activities or patients would be accessing a cultivation center to obtain the product. Any food products in the program must be prepared at cultivation centers and include packaging that clearly indicates it is a cannabis infused product and the facility where it was produced. A total of twenty-two (22) licenses may be issued by the State for cultivation centers with a limit of one license per Illinois State Police District. The siting of a cultivation center is further restricted to not be located within 2,500 feet of any public/private preschool, elementary/secondary school, day care center, day care home, or an area zoned for residential use. The above regulations effectively prohibit an operator from locating a cultivation center within the corporate limits of the Village. No parcel exists in the community that is located more than 2,500 feet from a residentially zoned parcel. Illinois Medical Cannabis Program — Mount Prospect Zoning September 2, 2014 Page 2 Dispensing Organizations The regulations in the Act for dispensing organizations allow such facilities to be located within the community. A dispensing organization is defined as a "facility operated by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to acquire medical cannabis from a registered cultivation center for the purpose of dispensing cannabis or related supplies and educational materials to registered qualifying patients." A total of sixty (60) licenses may be issued by the State for dispensing organizations. Similarly to cultivation centers, restrictions are placed on where a dispensing facility may be sited. The Act prohibits dispensing facilities from locating within 1,000 feet of any public/private preschool, elementary/secondary school, day care center, day care home, or within a residentially zoned area. These restrictions would therefore allow a dispensary to be sited within a commercial or industrial zoned area. To ensure dispensaries were not concentrated to a single populated area the state was divided into districts. Two districts include property in Mount Prospect: District 31 consisting of Elk Grove and Schaumburg townships and District 32 consisting of Maine and Wheeling Townships. Therefore, it is possible for Mount Prospect to have two dispensaries within its corporate limits. Mount Prospect Zoning The Act provides language that a unit of local government may enact reasonable zoning ordinances and resolutions not in conflict with the provisions of the Act which further regulate cultivation centers or dispensing organizations. The Act further states that "no unit of local government, including a home rule unit may regulate registered medical cannabis organizations other than as provided in the Act and may not unreasonably prohibit the cultivation, dispensing, and use of medical cannabis authorized by the Act." This language provides the Village with the ability to enact regulations pertaining to cultivation centers and dispensaries, but not to the effect of prohibiting their location. Currently, our code does not specifically list medical marijuana dispensing organizations or cultivation centers as a permitted or conditional use. Reconunendation Based on a review of the program guidelines, staff believes that the dispensaries will operate similarly to retail pharmacy operations. Although customers will be limited to those registered in the program, individuals will still be accessing a business location to purchase products and obtain their prescriptions. Staff recommends treating dispensing organizations as a pharmacy under the Village's zoning code. The code currently permits pharmacies to locate within the B-2, B-3, B-4, and B-5 zoning districts. As the State has imposed detailed regulations on how these facilities can operate, staff proposes no additional restrictions on the type of use. An alternative may be to require these facilities to obtain conditional use approval should the Board want additional restrictions to be imposed. Although cultivation centers may be effectively restricted from locating within the Village based on the siting requirements of the Act, staff still recommends treating these types of facilities as light manufacturing uses under our zoning code. This designation would permit a cultivation center to be located within an 1-1 zoned property should the state requirements change or a property complies with the current regulations. Light manufacturing is a permitted use within the 1-1 zoning district. Please forward this memorandum and attachments to the Village Board for their review and consideration at their September 9, 2014 Committee of the Whole meeting. Staff will be present to answer any questions related to this matter. William J. Cooney, Jr., A r P Municipal Survey of Medicinal Cannabis Zoning Regulations MLill itrpaft Hoffman Estates Schaumburg Buffalo Grove Des Plaines Palatine Arlington Heights Addison Itasca Naperville Roselle Village Park Willowbrook Woodridge CWWat en Cent.e Special Use in Commercial/Industrial Special Use in Industrial Special Use in Industrial Permitted in Industrial Special Use in Industrial Permitted in Industrial Permitted in Industrial Special Use in Industrial Permitted in Industrial Special Use in Industrial N/A Special Use in Industrial N/A Dispensing Organizations Special Use in Commercial/Industrial Special Use in Industrial Special Use in Industrial Special Use in Commercial/Industrial Special Use in Industrial Permitted in Commercial (Pharmacy) Permitted in Industrial Special Use in Industrial Permitted in Industrial Permitted in Industrial Special Use in Industrial Special Use in Industrial Permitted in Industrial