Roselle panel supports lifting village ban on pot sales

A Roselle panel is endorsing the idea of lifting the village's ban on recreational marijuana businesses.

The Roselle planning and zoning commission on Tuesday unanimously recommended allowing cannabis dispensaries and cultivation sites.

As part of the recommendation, dispensaries would be allowed in business districts as long as they meet certain requirements. The most likely locations would be along Irving Park Road and possibly Main Street. Meanwhile, growing and cultivation sites would be allowed in industrial districts along Gary Avenue, Lake Street, Central Avenue and Medinah Road.

The proposal to lift the ban now heads to the village board. Trustees are expected to vote on the issue later this month or next month.

In the meantime, the moratorium will remain in place until at least Sept. 27.

While municipalities can't ban possession or use of marijuana by adults, they can prohibit its sale in their communities. Roselle's prohibition was enacted in December 2019, just before recreational marijuana became legal in Illinois.

Roselle trustees are considering the possibility of allowing recreational marijuana businesses because voters approved cannabis-related questions on the April ballot. One asked if recreational marijuana sales should be allowed in town, and the other asked if the village should permit "growing, infusion, cultivation, processing, and transporting" of recreational marijuana.

Four members of the public weighed in on the issue during Tuesday's plan commission meeting. Three of them said they support lifting the ban.

Supporters said getting marijuana from a state-licensed recreational dispensary would be safer than a black-market dealer.

"I feel like taverns are more dangerous than what we're proposing here," Brandon Winters said. "We don't want to put this in front of little kids. But for those that are 21 or 22, you don't want to make sure they 'know a guy.'"

Roselle resident John Franzen said he's opposed to having recreational marijuana businesses in town. He said they might influence younger kids depending on their location.

"As a father and citizen of Roselle, I don't want my kid getting ice cream right next to a weed dispensary," Franzen said. "It's not my idea of Roselle when I wake up in the morning."

If Roselle permits marijuana sales, individual businesses would need village approval to open. In addition, the Roselle Police Department would need to approve a business's security plan.

As part of the plan commission's recommendation, there would be no size limit for a dispensary. The panel says on-site consumption shouldn't be allowed.