The Wilmette Village Board will soon vote on whether to allow cannabis sales inside the village.
At a Sept. 14 meeting, an ordinance was introduced that would amend existing zoning regulations to permit the sale of cannabis at Edens Plaza, adjacent to the Edens Expressway.
The board members did not take a vote, but placed the matter on the agenda for their Sept. 28 meeting. The language in the ordinance would allow cannabis sales through special use permits.
Village Manager Michael Braiman spoke on the overall meaning of the action.
“This does not mean there will be a cannabis dispensary at Edens Plaza,” Braiman said. “This is a step to allow a business owner and the property owner to submit a special use application for consideration. If we were to receive such an application, there would then be multiple opportunities for feedback at both the Zoning Board of Appeals and at the Village Board.”
Board President Senta Plunkett referred to the lengthy deliberations that led the Village Board to this point in the process.
“We’ve talked through this for two years now,” Plunkett said. “This is definitely not the last opportunity, nor will two weeks from now be the last opportunity, for residents to speak. You may not catch their attention until if or when a dispensary ever does submit an application to come to Wilmette.”
Last November, a majority of Wilmette voters supported allowing adult use cannabis sales in a referendum.
Following that vote, officials reviewed all of the business districts to determine the appropriate location. They concluded in June the Edens Plaza site worked best, according to Assistant Village Manager Erik Hallgren.
At the beginning of the Sept. 14 meeting, two Loyola Academy students addressed the board about the proposed ordinance with one asking about the possibility of minors using a false identification card what steps would be taken to prevent that from occurring.
Corporation Counsel Jeffrey Stein said under a state law, an ID reader must be used before a sale, which is different from any other type of industry, including alcohol sales.
“If the ID reader — because every ID has a bar code — does not essentially read that the individual is 21 or over, the sale cannot be made,” Stein said.
Stein said that he was aware of one illegal sale, adding that it carries a fine of $20,000.
“There is quite a bit of discouragement to allowing such sales,” Stein said.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter.
