Forest Park will welcome its second dispensary in the new year, following months of delay and a recent reapplication process. The village council approved a conditional use permit for Bloc Dispensary on Aug. 26, allowing the business to open at 7216 Circle Ave., likely in 2025.
The village council approved Bloc dispensary’s opening for its owners, Emerald Coast LLC, in February 2023 after the village’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended they do so.
But this year, the dispensary experienced delays in getting the permits it needs from the state, according to Village Administrator Rachell Entler.
Bloc Dispensary did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Because of the delay on the state’s end, the special use permit that Bloc previously received from the village expired after a year. So, the dispensary had to reapply.
Bloc Dispensary requires a special use permit to open on Circle Ave. It’s a commercially zoned block; under village code, dispensaries are only permitted in industrially zoned areas.
“It is not a permitted use,” Entler said of the dispensary and why it needed a special use permit. “Anytime somebody wants to open something that’s not permitted, they have to go through the Planning and Zoning Commission in order to get permission.”
At a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on July 15, Bloc Dispensary reapplied for its special use permit. Board members unanimously voted in favor of the reapplication, and there was no public comment at the meeting.
Therefore, at the Aug. 26 village council meeting, commissioners moved to approve the dispensary’s conditional use permit.
The village council approved the permit on the conditions that the dispensary won’t be detrimental or dangerous to public health, won’t be injurious to the use or enjoyment of area residents, won’t impede the development of the area, has adequate utilities and road access, is provided ingress and egress, and isn’t contrary to the village’s comprehensive plan.
According to the village council’s affirmative vote, the conditional use permit complies with all regulations of the village’s B-2 zoning district and the Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act.
Entler said that 7216 Circle Ave.’s property owner has completed updates to the building’s facade. She said that they hope to get permits from the village to start renovating the interior by mid-September.
Entler added that Emerald Coast LLC expects to open Bloc Dispensary in the first quarter of 2025.