Neighborhood News
Residents, Stakeholders Query Cannabis Dispensary Reps at Community Meeting
A standing-room-only crowd packed the cozy confines of the McKinley Park neighborhood’s Slice Factory restaurant on Monday, February 6, 2023, for a community meeting about a BLOC brand cannabis dispensary next door at the corner of West 35th Street and South Ashland Avenue.
Representatives from Justice Cannabis Co., a Chicago-based firm now operating in nine states, presented information about its business and answered questions from the in-person and online audience about the proposed dispensary at 3455-3459 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago.
Mitch Zaveduk, Justice’s vice president of real estate, led the presentation and touted the economic and other benefits of the dispensary, including 22 full- and part-time jobs.
11th Ward Alderwoman Nicole Lee explains the cannabis dispensary approval process at the community meeting on Monday, February 6, 2023.“We have a hire local first initiative,” Zaveduk said. “We promote from within. Justice is a great place to work.”
11th and 12th Wards
Others representing Justice Cannabis Co. presented information on security and surveillance at the dispensary, the build-out process and the impact on local traffic as based on a contracted, third-party study.
Nearly 30 people participated in the meeting, including 11th Ward Alderwoman Nicole Lee and 12th Ward Alderwoman Anabel Abarca. Although the proposed dispensary site currently lies within the 12th Ward, it soon will be in the 11th after new ward boundaries take effect due to redistricting.
Community Concerns
This is the reason the community meeting was held at the Slice Factory, said Karl Camillucci, an attorney from the Taft law firm providing consulting to Justice Cannabis Co.
It “was the only location that met the legal requirement for meeting location,” he said, given the changing ward boundaries and proximity requirements for the legally mandated community meeting a dispensary applicant must host.
Several attendees at the meeting voiced concerns about the dispensary, ranging from effects on local schoolchildren to not bringing outside traffic into the neighborhood.
Pick Up And Leave
Zaveduk explained the setup and process at Justice’s dispensaries, including how 85 percent of their customers pre-order products online before picking up at the dispensary.
A customer spends “an average of 4 minutes” in the dispensary before departing, Zaveduk said.
12th Ward Alderwoman Anabel Abarca answers questions at the Justice Cannabis dispensary meeting on February 6, 2023.“There’s ample parking,” said Lissa Druss, CEO of Strategia Consulting speaking on behalf of Justice Cannabis Co. “Customers will go in, pick up their order and leave.”
$10 to $20 Million
“On-site consumption is strictly prohibited by law,” she said.
Druss said the dispensary location is projected to generate $10 to $20 million in annual sales.
“Three percent of that will go to the city,” she said.
100 Percent Pro-Union
Zaveduk noted how Justice Cannabis Co. is applying for the dispensary based on a State of Illinois social equity cannabis license “because we have employees who qualify” comprising a large percentage of its diverse workforce.
In response to a question about union support from a meeting attendee, Zaveduk pointed to the worker unions already active at Justice Cannabis Co. dispensaries in other states.
“We are union-friendly,” Zaveduk said. “One hundred percent.”
Zoning Board Decision
Both Abarca and Lee spoke to the process of dispensary approval, noting that the process and decision-making goes through Chicago’s Zoning Board of Appeals.
As previously reported here in the McKinley Park News, the administrator of the zoning board has issued an initial zoning verification letter to the applicant confirming that the site’s location meets legal requirements for the establishment of a dispensary, including commercial district zoning for the property and a 500 foot minimum distance from schools.
Five Months to Build
Following its community meeting, a cannabis dispensary applicant must receive its final approval at a public Zoning Board of Appeals hearing.
After any approval, it would take about five months for the dispensary location to be built out and opened to the public, Druss said.
Not a Done Deal
Camillucci said a date for the dispensary’s final Zoning Board of Appeals meeting has not yet been set.
Abarca said that anyone who wished could testify about the proposed dispensary at the approval hearing at the Zoning Board of Appeals.
“It’s hardly a done deal,” Zaveduk said.
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