Peoria – Via passage of the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act (410 ILCS 130/), the State of Illinois has legalized the cultivation and dispensing of medical cannabis. On Tuesday, July 15, 2014, the state’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules approved the rules for the medical cannabis pilot program from the Departments of Agriculture, Financial and Professional Regulation, Public Health, and Revenue. Within the next two months, the state anticipates receiving applications for cultivation and dispensary licenses.

Over the past several months, Peoria County has made text amendments to its zoning code to allow for medical cannabis cultivation in the Industrial-1, Industrial-2, and Commercial-2 zoning districts with a special use permit approved by the County Board. In anticipation of a short timeframe for licensing applications to be submitted to the state, Peoria County is taking the following actions to make it easier for developers wishing to establish a cultivation center in Peoria County to navigate through the County’s special use process.

• Economic Development staff, in conjunction with Planning and Zoning, will publish a sample Special Use Application Timeline containing deadlines for application submittal, expedited processing of applications, and review by appropriate regulatory boards; this timeline is subject to change depending upon rules and regulation issued by the state, and public notification requirements. The attached sample timeline reflects the Peoria Journal Star publication schedule.
• County Planning and Zoning staff will be available for pre-application meetings until Friday, August 18, 2014 to go through Special Use Applications with potential developers to answer questions and point out areas of concern or focus.
• The County shall hold a special meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals to review and decide upon special use requests.
• The County Board shall hold a special meeting of its Land Use Committee to act upon the recommendation(s) from the Zoning Board of Appeals.
• The County Board will meet on September 11, 2014 to decide upon any special use request(s) that have gone before the Zoning Board of Appeals and Land Use Committee.

Questions regarding the special use process may be directed to the Planning and Zoning Department at (309) 672-6915.