Schaumburg officials to consider proposal for fourth marijuana dispensary in village
Schaumburg trustees will consider a plan Tuesday to allow the village's fourth recreational marijuana dispensary in a majority of the former Omega Restaurant, which closed in March at the corner of Irving Park and Wise roads.
Representatives of Cloud 9 Cannabis want to use 4,500 square feet of the 6,500-square-foot building at 1823 W. Wise Road for what would be their own fifth dispensary in the state but the first in the Northwest suburbs.
The company operates locations in Champaign and Edwardsville, with others to open soon in Oswego and East Peoria.
Approximately 35 to 40 people would be employed at the Schaumburg building, which originally was used as a Ponderosa Steakhouse. The building's remaining 2,000 square feet are planned to be used by a future second tenant.
Approval of the proposal would leave Schaumburg only one dispensary short of the maximum five trustees set in December 2019.
Experience has made Cloud 9 Cannabis as familiar with state and local dispensary requirements as Schaumburg officials have become at enforcing them.
The tightest margins in this case involve the minimum distance of 1,000 feet from schools, day care centers and places of worship.
Cloud 9 Cannabis would be 1,255 feet from the west lot line of Jennifer's Kids Learning Center at 1624 W. Wise Road, and only 1,061 feet from the west lot line of the Schaumburg Child Development Center at 1122 Westover Lane.
Nevertheless, village planners concurred that the proposal conforms to all requirements.
Zoning board of appeals members unanimously recommended approval of the plan earlier this month.
Schaumburg's three existing dispensaries are Sunnyside at 1735 E. Golf Road, Enlightened at 820 E. Golf Road, and Verilife at 150 N. Barrington Road.
Recreational marijuana dispensaries became legal in Illinois on Jan. 1, 2020. Many municipalities added their own layers of regulation or restriction just before.