PEORIA, Ill. — A significant percentage of those who responded to a city survey about the future of the marijuana business in Peoria said they don’t want to see a limit placed on the number of cannabis licenses here.
Furthermore, many respondents indicated they’d prefer city leaders allow for the proliferation of marijuana business without many regulations dictating location or the availability of on-site consumption.
Peoria Corporation Council Chrissie Kaputska offered the update for elected leaders during a city council discussion held on Tuesday.
“Of the 345 people who provided comments, overwhelmingly, over 20 percent of those all came back to one topic. They did not want to see a cap on the number of licenses,” Kaputska said during the meeting.
There were a total of roughly 700 respondents who took an online survey.
She said there were a total of 25 respondents who said they did not want to see any more marijuana dispensaries allowed within Peoria city limits.
Peoria city officials held two public meetings last week to gauge local residents’ feelings and opinions on the subject along with conducting the online portion of the research.
Council members continue to debate how the city should regulate marijuana dispensaries going forward, with city staff expected to bring proposals for revised city ordinances in the coming weeks.
On Thursday, officials with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced there have been a total of eight so-called Social Equity Cannabis Dispensing Organization Licenses approved for Peoria.
The unique licenses are aimed at helping members of marginalized groups establish their own operations.
City Council members have struggled with how to ensure these special state license allowances don’t create a landscape where there are too many dispensaries clumped altogether in too many places.
Kaputska and City Manager Patrick Urich indicated city staff would continue working on proposals for new regulations.
