Crystal Lake City Council to discuss allowing more types of marijuana businesses

The Crystal Lake City Council is set to consider allowing more kinds of recreational marijuana businesses in the city at its meeting Tuesday.

The city of Crystal Lake currently allows medical marijuana dispensaries in its farming zoning districts and medical marijuana cultivation centers in its manufacturing zoning districts. Both require a special use permit.

Ahead of the state’s legalization of recreational marijuana for anyone 21 and older, the City Council also voted to allow adult-use dispensaries in its general commercial, or B-2, zoning district but to not allow other types of marijuana-related businesses, including craft growers, cultivation centers for recreational use, infusers and other processors and transporters.

The city has not received any applications for a dispensary.

Part of the discussion at the time was to revisit these other kinds of businesses in a year’s time, which the Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission did last month, according to council documents.

Under the proposal to be considered by the council Tuesday, these other businesses would be allowed in the manufacturing districts and cultivation centers and craft growers would also be allowed in the watershed district.

The planning and zoning commission also considered a buffer of 500 feet from residential uses based on how the rollout in other communities and their “more intensive operations,” according to the council documents. A 500-foot buffer would also be required from schools, child care, churches and other religious establishments, parks, libraries and recovery homes.

The Planning and Zoning Commission did not vote up or down on these proposals, but instead voted to look at it again in six months. However, under the city’s ordinances, petitions are to be considered by the commission within 45 days or be forwarded to the council for action.

The commission did vote on allowing medical marijuana dispensaries to operate in the general commercial districts as recreational dispensaries are and would stop allowing them in the farming district, the documents show. Both would still require special use permits.

That recommendation, approved unanimously, will also be considered by the council at its meeting 7 p.m. Tuesday.