The first discussion among the full Aurora City Council about the proposed first marijuana dispensary in town has been delayed.
Representatives from Healthway Services LLC, which does business as Zen Leaf, were due to present information about their proposed dispensary at 740 N. Route 59 at the Committee of the Whole meeting recently.
The company is asking for rezoning and a special use for the dispensary in a retail building in an outlot that is part of the development that includes a Meijer store. Aldermen on the Building, Zoning and Economic Development Committee had voted 4-1 to recommend both the special use and rezoning, and the Committee of the Whole meeting would have been the first time the full council discussed it.
But Zen Leaf representatives let city officials know they had to delay the discussion because of a hold-up in their quest to take ownership of the building. City officials had no further details on the delay, but during discussions at the committee level, development officials said they had received a letter from the attorney for Meijer stores, objecting to the use there.
Both city officials and Zen Leaf officials said they would reach out to Meijer to talk about its problem with the facility.
Zen Leaf officials have said they believe the retail location along Route 59 would be a prime one for them. Route 59 is one of the busiest retail corridors in Illinois, and Zen Leaf officials had said the dispensary would be a “regional draw.”
Zen Leaf has dispensaries or cultivation facilities in 14 states, and estimated the Aurora location would produce at least $1 million a year in tax revenue for the city. Anthony Marisco, executive vice president for retail for Zen Leaf, also said it would create 30 to 40 full-time and part-time jobs that would pay between $30,000 and $60,000 a year.
The building is about 11,000 square feet and has three commercial suites in it. Zen Leaf plans to locate in the middle suite, which is vacant, while honoring leases in the other two suites. Eventually, Zen Leaf could expand into either or both of the suites and occupy the whole building, depending on the market and need.
Recreational marijuana was legalized by the Illinois General Assembly on June 25, and the city of Aurora adopted a local ordinance regulating the location of dispensaries Oct. 22. Marijuana became legal in Illinois on Jan. 1.
Zen Leaf officials have operated in Illinois since medical marijuana became legal in 2015. They run a medical marijuana dispensary in St. Charles, and as such were granted a “plus-one” license to open a recreational dispensary, which is what they would use for Aurora.
Officials with the company have said there have been no incidents at the facility in St. Charles.
But that did not stop some residents from questioning if the facility was a good one for the Route 59 location.
Speaking at the Committee of the Whole meeting, Lynne Johnson, a former alderman from the 10th Ward, where the facility would be located, said the facility “spells out nothing but trouble.” She said it would lower property values in the area, and that there is not enough parking at the location.
“It will be a sad day … if you allow marijuana to be sold in the city of Aurora,” she said.
A representative for Casa Dei Bambini Montessori School, which is just along the other side of Meijer from where the dispensary would be located, said he hopes the council considers everything when making its decision.
“I think the impact will be negative for us,” he said.
As part of the site plan, Zen Leaf has submitted a full security plan that it said would be checked with the Aurora Police Department. The company has hired Silver Star Protection Group, run by Ed Farrell, a former U.S. Marshal, to provide security for all of Zen Leaf’s facilities.
slord@tribpub.com