Lisle agrees to ban recreational marijuana sales

Businesses selling recreational marijuana won't be able to operate in Lisle when a state law allowing cannabis use and possession by adults takes effect in less than three months.

The Lisle village board voted 3-2 this week to approve an amendment prohibiting adult-use cannabis business establishments as defined by Illinois' Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, including cultivation centers, dispensing organizations and craft growers.

Most of the trustees who supported the ban didn't comment before the vote. One, Marie Hasse, spoke only to thank everyone who provided feedback.

“It is a very important topic. It's one that we take very seriously,” Hasse said. “We are elected to listen to our constituents and try to make the best decision possible for the village of Lisle.”

Meanwhile, the two trustees who voted “no” — Stephen Winz and Sara Sadat — first sought to postpone the decision.

Sadat said trustees should have had the village's planning and zoning commission review the issue before voting on the ban.

“By not taking it to the planning commission and allowing them to come up with either zoning or safety regulations and having this discussion, we're kind of doing ourselves a disservice,” she said.

Sadat said “a strong majority” of residents she's spoken to wanted the village to allow cannabis-based businesses, including retail establishments

Winz said voters should have been allowed to weigh in on the issue through a referendum.

“The least we can do as a board is allow for the community to decide,” Winz said. “Because if we don't allow it to go a referendum at this point ... we have opted out. And it becomes far more cumbersome and difficult to get the referendum.”

But Mayor Christopher Pecak has said opting out gives the village the chance to pursue a ballot question in the future. If the village opts in, a dispensary could open in Lisle before a referendum could occur.

“We could never put the genie back in the bottle and opt out” later, Pecak said last month. “We can't have a referendum if we opt in.”