Village to look at rec. marijuana sales again in November

BY DANI TIETZ
dani@mahometnews.com

“When I served on the Village board, I preached to our citizens that if you want to make sure that your back yard and front yard stay the way you want it, attend your Village meetings,” Vicki Cook said during the public comment section of the Village Board of Trustees special meeting Tuesday night.

Cook, a Mahomet-Seymour graduate, served on the Village Board from 2010-2017.

The catalyst for Cook’s attendance was a public discussion on whether or not the Village of Mahomet should opt-out, prohibit or limit the number or location of recreational cannabis businesses by ordinance.

But Cook was the only community member to show up for the discussion.

When Village President Sean Widener asked Cook if she had an opinion either way, she said that she trusts the direction of the board and hopes that trustees do get a lot of feedback from the community on the topic.

Unlike other states that put the legalization of recreational marijuana on the ballot, Illinois legislators made the measure legal on March 29, 2019, leaving municipalities not with the decision of whether or not marijuana could be used recreationally, but whether or not the municipality would allow the sale within its limits.

Municipalities may not restrict the private consumption of cannabis, but certain limitations, by Illinois law, are put on the public consumption of the drug, including on school property, public grounds and at daycare facilities. Local municipalities also have the right to regulate the possession and public consumption of cannabis so long as the regulations and penalties are consistent with the Public Act 101-0027.

“The Illinois no smoking ban, smoking is prohibited in public places” Village attorney Joe Chamley said. “There is certain deference to local government to try to ban certain smoking in certain places that might be on the edges of whether it’s permitted or not. But for the most part, it will be legal for the most part.”

The item for the study session was not slated for action. Instead, Village Administrator Patrick Brown said that the time was set aside so that the trustees could hear from the public.

“But that doesn’t mean that you can’t go out,” Brown said.

“Based on tonight, it doesn’t seem as controversial as video gaming did or alcohol did or other things in the community. That part surprises me a little bit.”

Widener said that other communities did not have a good turnout. Trustee Bill Oliger added that the second meetings in other communities seemed to be better attended.

Brown included three model ordinances in the study session packet.

The first example showed that a municipality can tax the sale of recreational cannabis up to three-percent. The second provided the municipality with the authority to prohibit adult-use cannabis business establishments and the third pertains to the possession, use, cultivation, transportation and dispensing of adult-use cannabis.

Brown said some municipalities have “kicked the can forward a little bit” as to not have to ban the sale, then roll back the ban. And others are waiting to see what the state of Illinois does as it troubleshoots this new measure.

“I don’t expect that if you allow the sales to happen in Mahomet, that all of a sudden next year you’re going to see something open,” Brown said.

The state of Illinois will issue 75 new licenses to sell recreational marijuana after May 1, 2020. The 55 existing medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state will be allowed to open recreational dispensaries on their sites, and apply to open a second dispensary if the local governments allow it.

There will then be a second wave of licenses issued.

Brown said that as the state continues to expand into wave three of licenses, it’s possible that Mahomet could be considered.

“It could be two years before anyone comes here to try to open up a dispensary,” he said. “It could be three years or it could be five years. It just depends on how much the state expands.”

The discussion by trustees went into understanding the nuances of the circumstances of what might be allowed by law and what authority the local government had, but Widener said that if the trustees were not interesting in setting up ordinances that prohibit or restrict the establishment from selling cannabis, they were wasting their time in the weeds.

“It’s not going to change the fact of how our law enforcement deals with it,” Widener said.

Oliger said that law enforcement will continue to enforce the legal possession limit and make sure that drivers are not above the state limit level.

Trustee Bruce Colravy asked once zoning changes are passed or prohibited, if they could be changed.

Staff said that the trustees could limit and target where they wanted establishments to be located.

Community Dev. Directo Kelly Pfeifer said it is similar to retail zoning. Currently, the Village allows retail sales in C1 and C2 zones.

“There may be some changes we need to make,” Pfeifer said.

Trustee Andy Harpst asked about sales of recreational marijuana outside of the dispensaries, and how at-home growers, which must possess a medical marijuana card by law, would be regulated.

Staff said that sales outside of the dispensary would continue to be illegal, and that everyone with a license to grow will be heavily regulated.

Widener asked trustees if they wanted to direct staff to draft an ordinance or if they wanted to continue to discuss the matter.

Harpst, along with Widener, said they are indifferent to the issue.

“The way I look at it is tobacco is already legal, alcohol is already legal, and we are allowing sales of those in the Village,” Harpst said.

“To me, there is now no difference because the State is making it legal effective in January. Why not capture some revenue off of that?”

Trustee Brian Metzger said he felt the other way.

He said since spring he had heard about 50-percent of people in support of allowing the sale within Village limits, and the other half in opposition of it.

“I guess right now, I’m leaning towards let’s wait and see,” Metzger said. “If we’re not going to have these pop-up, they aren’t going to be three of them pop up in Mahomet. Odds are, we are lucky to have one.”

Metzger said since the likelihood is slim, he thinks the Village should wait and see until more data becomes available.

Harpst said he sees no problem with a slow approach.

Widener said he believes that the approach the Village took with gaming, the wait-and-see approach, did not change the minds of either those who were for or against the possibility.

Trustee Don Lynn agreed with Metzger that the board should wait-and-see.

Oliger asked how long it would take staff to draft an ordinance and for the board to pass the measure if someone came to open a recreational dispensary in the future.

Brown said that some towns have just put a moratorium, to temporarily not allow, on the measure so that if that situation should arise, they do not have to overturn the prohibition.

Pfeifer said that the recreational marijuana establishment is different than the video gaming issue because it can stand on its own, whereas video gaming cannot.

Brown said that the Village can add to or limit the amount of video gaming and alcohol licenses within the Village.

Metzger said that because it is unlikely that there will be even one establishment in Mahomet within the next few years, he does not see the tax benefit to allowing the sale of it within the Village at this point in time.

“I think that we would be naive to think people would not want to look at how to get to Mahomet,” Widener said.

“We’ve been pushing for commercial space for a very long time, we have vacancies, I can’t say this because I know first-hand, but I would venture to guess that we would have some people interested in Mahomet.”

Pfeifer said that within Village limits, there is a wide range of price per square foot.

Oliger said because the use of cannabis will be legal for those over the age of 21 in 2020, he is 50/50 on whether the Village should allow the sale of it within Village limits.

“If you pressed me today, I’d be okay with it,” Oliger said.

Colravy said he wishes it weren’t a question before the board, but it is.

“It’s something we need to deal with,” Colravy said. “I guess anytime you’re moving towards something, it does feel like it is a one-way street that you need to approach cautiously. I think the key is just making sure it is just zoned in a way.”

Colravy said he’d still like to have time to get people’s opinions.

Widener said that the Village is not in any hurry to do something, but that the board does not need to talk about the topic every month.

Cook said that she feels like the community is at 50/50 because the majority are of the age where marijuana was taboo.

“We’re having to rethink of this as a natural medicine that they’ve discovered,” she said. “It’s a learning curve. And also a possibility of economic development.”

The board of trustees will put the same topic on the November study session agenda, should public want to offer additional input. The board will then give staff direction.

Trustee David Johnson was not at the meeting.