Residents at a recent Planning and Zoning Commission meeting said they adamantly oppose a proposed dispensary that, if approved, would bring the number of cannabis sellers in Forest Park to three.
During a commission meeting Sept. 17, Omar Fakhouri, co-owner of Mint IL LLC, asked for a conditional use permit to open a dispensary in the 2,000-square-foot building at 7207 Roosevelt Rd. Mint operates a cannabis cultivation plant in Forest Park at 7550 Industrial Dr.
Six Forest Park residents spoke at the meeting, all of them in opposition to the project. Some residents said that, with Parkway Dispensary opening on Madison Street and Bloc Dispensary coming to Circle Avenue, the village will soon have enough dispensaries.
“How many dispensaries do we need?” asked Mary Powell, who lives on Elgin Avenue, around the corner from the proposed dispensary site. She, like other residents, also expressed concern over increased traffic on the corner of Roosevelt Road and Harlem Avenue, which sees lots of accidents.
“That’s the busiest intersection in Forest Park,” Powell said.
But the intersection would likely remain busy, regardless of what goes into 7202 Roosevelt Road.
“What I have a hard time putting in my mind is the difference between the businesses that are there and what you have,” Chairperson Marsha East said to Fakhouri. “The fact is Harlem and Roosevelt is always going to be a nightmare of an intersection.”
While there would be a limit on customers inside the store based on the building code, Fakhouri couldn’t tell the Planning and Zoning Commission exactly what the number is because the dispensary doesn’t have a building permit.
Fakhouri said there would likely be four or five employees working during operating hours and that most customers are there for 15 minutes, with peak hours usually from 5 to 8 p.m.
“There’s a check-cashing facility there,” Fakhouri said of the Roosevelt Road building. “They see probably similar traffic that we anticipate seeing.”
“It’s not like day one when adult-use [cannabis] passed in Illinois, and you had people flocking to one store that was open in a 20-mile radius,” Fakhouri added. “These aren’t as saturated.”
The commission members laid out their concerns, which they asked Fakhouri to address at next month’s meeting.
They asked Fakhouri to amend the dispensary’s sign, which board member Scott Whitebone said was 6 feet long.
“It does not meet code, significantly,” Whitebone said. “It’s way too large.”
Board members also called for a more detailed floor plan and site plan, including a map showing where vans would drop off deliveries and the location of security cameras and personnel; Fakhouri said there would be cameras, motion and glass-breaking sensors, and security personnel.
“I think we need a better sense of how things flow,” East told Fakhouri.
The commission asked if the dispensary could make its parking lot exit so that cars can only turn right onto Roosevelt Road upon leaving the business. And they requested the dispensary put a “Do Not Enter” sign by the alleyway north of the building so that customers don’t cut through to Elgin Avenue, or that the dispensary block the alley off altogether from the parking lot.
Steve Glinke, director of public health and safety, said he’d have to ask Christopher Burke Engineering, the village’s long-time engineering consultant, before amending the alleyway. Glinke told the Review that he’s pricing out a preliminary engineering solution.
East closed the meeting, requesting Fakhouri come with answers to the board’s questions at the next Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on Oct. 21.
“I’m going to make a suggestion that we continue this, and we get a little bit more information tying together some of the issues that we heard here today,” East said.