Schaumburg may drop impact fee for medical marijuana dispensary

After generating exactly zero emergency calls since its 2015 opening, Schaumburg's first medical marijuana dispensary may soon see its annual $37,752 impact fee to the village dropped and refunded.

Following a report from administrators, the members of Schaumburg's planning, building and development committee Thursday recommended the village board do just that at its Feb. 14 meeting.

When the impact fee was set for Oak Park-based PharmaCannis' Schaumburg location, it presumed one police call and one paramedic call to the facility per week.

But a provision to review the level and need for such an impact fee each year was put in place and remains in effect.

With PharmaCannis having completed its first full year of operation in 2016, Schaumburg village staff members recognized there had been no emergency calls at all, Assistant Village Manager Paula Hewson said.

PharmaCannis General Counsel Jeremy Unruh said his staff, too, recognized the lack of such problems after first being unsure what to expect.

"We learned that and I hope that we have earned your trust," Unruh told village officials Thursday.

He added that he hopes that trust will remain as the company looks for larger quarters than its current 1,600-square-foot space - preferably in Schaumburg itself.

Unruh said the truth of the medical marijuana business is that the most likely causes of an emergency call would be either a wet ceiling motion detector under a leaky roof or an infirm patient becoming ill.

The typical patient profile at the facility is that of a 55-year-old white woman with cancer, Unruh said. The business currently employs several Schaumburg residents while serving hundreds more.

PharmaCannis operates 10 other locations in both Illinois and New York - none of which has ever had an impact fee. Its other Illinois dispensaries are in Evanston, North Aurora and Ottawa.