The City of East Peoria has three business enterprises seeking dispensary licenses for medical marijuana. The City's Zoning Board Of Appeals heard the proposals last night.
The Board recommended approval for the dispensaries proposed for Fondulac Plaza and Farmdale Road. The ZBA is recommending denial for the third proposed dispensary site. Five people spoke against that proposal based on its proposed location on North Main Street next door to Burger King.
Ty Livingston is East Peoria’s Director of Community Development. He says it’s a new process, and with that comes a learning curve. “But I certainly think there are concerns on both sides of the fence about where this goes and what sort of traffic this does deliver. I think that’s what the Zoning Board expressed concerns about tonight, is the traffic.”
The East Peoria City Council votes on the all three proposals next week. Even if they are all approved, the state has final licensing authority. The pilot law provides for 60 dispensaries statewide. It’s assumed that will mean the greater Peoria Region will receive two. The applications for Cannabis Cultivation Centers and Dispensaries have to be submitted in two weeks.