High Times Ahead? Board Weighs Cannabis Sales In Village

NEW LENOX, IL — When the Village of New Lenox Board of Trustees in 2019 voted to ban cannabis sales in the village, New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann said that he didn't believe a recreational facility "makes sense in our town." It would appear time has shifted attitudes as the board revisited the idea at its Monday meeting.

The prospect of allowing both a dispensary and a cultivation center in New Lenox was met with a far more subdued reaction than in 2019, when scores of residents showed up to voice their opinion on the matter. No public comments were given in favor of or against the idea at Monday's meeting.

• Related: New Lenox Prohibits Recreational Cannabis Sales

The apparent about-face by Village trustees — and, perhaps, the general public at large — was first signaled when the Village Committee of the Whole reexamined the issue during its October meeting, where it was told by Baldermann and Village staff that the issues the board had two years ago seemed to have been abated, and that "if the Village Board is so inclined to allow recreational cannabis there are safeguards that we can put in place," according to Village documents from that meeting.

• Related: New Lenox To Consider Revisiting Recreational Cannabis Stance

That opened the door for the New Lenox Plan Commission at its Nov. 16 meeting to take a look at what those safeguards would entail — and there are plenty in the six-page proposed zoning ordinance to allow cannabis sales — which the Plan Commission did recommend to the Village Board of Trustees to consider by a 6-1 vote, according to Village documents.

Among the safeguards in the current proposed ordinance are:

• Limiting the number of cannabis dispensaries and cultivation centers to one each.
• Requiring special use permits for each establishment, which would give the Village Board of Trustees more authority to control which potential businesses could exist and under what conditions.
• Establishing a 500-foot boundary from any cannabis dispensary and a 1,500-foot boundary from any cultivation center and schools, daycare centers, parks or churches.
• Strict safety requirements, including security cameras, lighting or other improvements the Village deems necessary, at the cost of the business.

Assistant Village Manager Robin Ellis told trustees Monday that staff was continuing to work with lawyers to further fine-tune the language of the proposed ordinance, and that those changes would be brought back before the board during the second read at its January meeting.