Politics & Government

Niles Tries To Limit Upcoming Marijuana Legality

Trustees voted to restrict the sale of medical marijuana to industrial zones, so it could not be sold near schools. However, one trustee wants to see if Niles could ban it the way some towns ban all alcohol sales.



Niles cannot stop medical marijuana from becoming legal in Illinois on Jan. 1, because the state legislature has approved it.

But village trustees want to limit the sale and cultivation of it to industrial areas, and possibly require a special use permit; they voted to do so at the last board meeting upon the advice of the Senior Planner Bruce Sylvester and Police Chief Dean Strzelecki.

At that meeting, some trustees wanted Niles to ban medical marijuana altogether, but were advised that wasn't possible.

The village can only limit medical marijuana by placing strict zoning restrictions on where it can be sold, Sylvester told them. However, Trustee Chris Hanusiak asked that the village determine how some villages can ban all alcohol sales and become "dry," suggesting Niles could try to similarly ban medical marijuana sales.

Trustee Joe LoVerde observed that a medical marijuana establishment has already opened on Milwaukee Avenue.

Earlier: Doctors Open Medical Marijuana Office In Niles

Restricting sales of medical marijuana to industrial zones

Sylvester said it would be advisable for the village of Niles to act before Jan. 1 to put zoning restrictions on where medical marijuana could be dispensed. 

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If a municipality didn’t adopt such zoning restrictions and a marijuana grower or dispensary wanted to come to Niles, Sylvester said, the law would look at them as pharmacies, and permit them wherever pharmacies are permitted--such as up and down Milwaukee Avenue or Dempster Street, or even near a school or park, unless Niles proactively restricted that.

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"So we can’t just say we don’t marijuana in Niles?" Trustee George Alpogianis asked.

What the state has approved, the village cannot ban

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Village Attorney Joseph Annunzio responded, "You could only deny them based on not meeting the conditions...you cannot say no." 

"I’m beside myself," Alpogianis responded.

Mayor Andrew Przybylo, who works in the zoning field, jumped in and said, "The state of Illinois said there can be dispensaries. What we’re doing here is saying it has to go into a special area."

Within that area, the village of Niles can set up zoning standards, so anyone who tries to locate there must meet the standards. 

He said the village now only has three zoning standards, but cited a need for a new zoning ordinance with eight to 10 standards.  

"We're damned if we do and damned if we don’t," Alpogianis said.

"We’re damned if we don’t," Przybylo responded.

Trustee John Jekot said he was going to vote yes for the zoning restrictions on medical marijuana, because otherwise if someone came in to set up shop in Niles after Jan. 1, the village could not stop them from locating on a major street.

Trustees Rosemary Palicki, Joe LoVerde, Danette Matyas and Chris Hanusiak joined him to pass the measure; Alpogianis took a pass. Police Chief Dean Strzelecki had advised them voting yes would be the safer option, saying they could alway tweak it in December.


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