Peoria soon may allow cannabis dispensary businesses to offer drive-through and curbside services.
A draft ordinance updating city code regulating both medical and adult use recreational cannabis operations is expected to return to the Peoria City Council after members voted this week to receive and file the proposal.
In June, Illinois updated state law governing cannabis businesses to allow for curbside and drive-through service, as well as extended daily hours past midnight.
“Currently, none of our cannabis dispensaries have drive-throughs. None of them are sited in an old pharmacy building, for example, that might already have one,” deputy city attorney Chrissie Kapustka told the council.
“And right now their hours of operation are limited and end at 10 p.m. The state legislation would allow that to extend until 2 a.m., although we are certainly not recommending that in our ordinance.”
Peoria has a limit of six cannabis licenses, four of which are currently in use. Under the proposal, the existing dispensaries would need to seek a special use allowance to set up a drive-through.
“If they wanted to drive-through, yes, they would have to retrofit their building in a way that made sense for it,” said Kapustka. “The state does have some parameters that they have to meet. They do have to get state approval before they can have a drive-through.
“The state also will review their point-of-sale system to make sure it can properly track what’s being sold over the counter and through the window, as well as they have to update their floor plans, revise their security plans, and their operating procedures.”
While the council’s action at Tuesday’s meeting was merely to receive and file the draft ordinance, three members voted against it: Denis Cyr, John Kelly and Zach Oyler.
“I understand and encourage, obviously, medical cannabis. But since day one, everybody knows I’ve been against the recreational,” said Cyr. “So, I don’t like this at all.”
Outdoor community cats
In another receive-and-file action, the council will look at implementing a policy to manage outdoor feral cats, as recommended by the Peoria County Animal Protection Services [PCAPS].
The “Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return” program, or TNVR, is already in place with several other Peoria County jurisdictions, including Bartonville, Chillicothe, Dunlap and Peoria Heights, as well as unincorporated areas.
“There are cats in in our community that are currently wild and they are breeding,” said City Manager Patrick Urich. “What we’re trying to do is simply address that circumstance without having to capture and put down those animals.”
In response to a question from council member Denise Jackson, PCAPS Executive Director Becky Spencer said the population of feral cats grows “exponentially” if it’s left unchecked.
Through the TNVR program, PCAPS staff and volunteers humanely trap the cats and a licensed veterinarian would spay or neuter the animals to prevent unwanted litters. Each cat would be vaccinated for rabies to protect public health.
After the procedures, the cats would be returned to their established outdoor habitat.
Spencer said the TNVR program pertains only to “feral cats that are unsocialized and living out in the community.
“If you own your own cat, the ordinance would remain that your cat, your indoor cat, needs to remain indoors and cannot run off of its property without being leashed, similar to the dogs as it is now,” she said.
