MOLINE, Ill. — The potential emergence of a marijuana dispensary on Avenue of the Cities was the catalyst for an impromptu update to Moline's marijuana zoning law.
Almost three years after Illinois legalization of marijuana, plans for a second dispensary in the Quad Cities have emerged, eyeing a former grocery store building on the corner of Avenue of the Cities and 27th Street in Moline.
However, one obstacle quickly emerged.
The location falls in an area that was unmarked for commercial marijuana.
Moline's marijuana zoning law creates four overlay districts for cannabis businesses. Each district is only allowed to have one dispensary.
"We have the Avenue of the Cities one. We also have one on the John Deere corridor. We have one in the Uptown area, which would be roughly the 16th Street corridor. And then we have one 'round by the airport," says Moline's Director of Economic Development, Ryan Hvitløk.
Moline says that the reason they created these districts was to keep dispensary competition fair and to stop the industry from overflowing in the area, which they say wouldn't appeal to all residents.
City officials said that the plans for the new dispensary caused them to notice a discrepancy in their marijuana ordinance that created the unmarked area.
"When we looked at it, we had areas that, a large part of the overlay districts had a certain zoning district underneath it. And that was not permitted in our use chart. And so that is what the crux of the issue is, is just correcting that oversight," said Hvitløk.
He adds that officials wanted to correct the zoning as the City adjusts to new economic conditions and the rise of the cannabis industry in the state.
We're looking at more tech and things like that, but really, cannabis has just become a multibillion-dollar industry in Illinois. And so it really only makes sense for entrepreneurs and for business owners to have that opportunity."
According to Moline officials, if the new dispensary opens, the City will add a three-percent tax, on top of the already-existing state tax on marijuana products.