Dupage Policy Journal

The Glendale Heights Village Board gave an official recommendation regarding a proposed cannabis dispensary to the Board of Trustees during a meeting held on Nov. 3.

The committee has been discussing the idea of a village dispensary for several weeks, with the developers themselves bringing their team to the meeting to present their project. The owners as well as the proposed head of security, the attorney representing the development, and other developers and engineers spoke about their respective departments of the project.

The project's proposed site is located at 2130 Bloomington Road, and it meets all the requirements listed by the village's zoning code. The presenters believed the project would have no impact on traffic, would have no signage alluding to or displaying cannabis products, and would enforce a strict policy against on-site consumption. They also shared details about their hired private security force, which would be present on-site during open hours.

While the committee is supposed to send a recommendation regarding the development to the Board of Trustees, they do not have the power to give the final say. The vote was split, with the tiebreaking negative vote cast by Village President Chodri Ma Khokhar.

"This is a very critical time for me particularly, and I have thoroughly listened, and I made a lot of, tons of notes," Khokhar said. "And if I go for money, my answer will be different. And if I go for my community, my values, the values of my community, I'm saying no."

The residents present at the meeting cheered in approval of the negative vote. The Board of Trustees first read the recommendation at a Nov. 17 meeting, and the votes will be cast during the first meeting of December.