(ABOVE) Seven Point of Illinois CEO Brad Zerman during a previous appearance before the Danville City Council.
Seven Point of Illinois CEO Brad Zerman says it’s unfair that his company has paid for the property at 380 Eastgate Drive since 2021, when they committed to Danville just months after winning a special state lottery for perspective cannabis dispensary licensees; and now, while Seven Point gets ready to break ground, other companies that won that lottery are trying to move into the same area. Zerman says Seven Point held onto that property and stayed committed to Danville; while everything was on hold due to state legal battles against potential licensees that had lost the lottery.
The latest applicant is Mariworks, LLC out of Chicago; who will come before the Danville Planning and Zoning Commission on June 1st. Zerman points out that before Parkway Dispensaries, now building in Tilton, was voted down by the Danville Council; they had to face the Planning and Zoning Commission and received a recommendation. Zerman says the commission should raise a red flag and say, “hey, wait a minute here.” Because in his eyes, Seven Point would be getting the short end of the stick; with Sunnyside on the east side of Lynch Road, Mariworks just south of him, and his independent company stuck in the middle.
AUDIO: It’s just not good planning to put three of the same kind of business on one corner, it just doesn’t make sense. There is not a need for more supply. These guys are a big company. They told me they have a $60 million growth facility.
Without the commission’s recommendation, the City Council would still review Mariworks’ plans, but a super-majority would be needed for passage. Danville Community Development Administrator Logan Cronk says since Mariworks has filed, the commission needs to hear their case. And for now, that location, along Lynch Road, is where cannabis dispensaries coming to Danville need to be.
AUDIO: The City of Danville’s current zoning ordinance states that they have to be located pretty much in this Lynch Road corridor. It is the cannabis dispensary license holder’s right to file a special use petition in front of the City of Danville; so yes, once it’s filed it has to be heard.
Zerman says the logical thing for Danville to do is change the ordinance so that cannabis dispensaries can be located in other places. He says that if they don’t, placing a bunch of them together is shooting yourself in the foot. And before you know it, more Danville customers will be heading to the future Parkway site in Tilton along Georgetown Road.
AUDIO: The reality is that with all the Danville stores being cited in one area, that leaves the residents to shop in Tilton; because that store’s likely closer to the residential areas of Danville, than east Danville dispensaries. Why not spread all these stores around the area, and increase property values in other areas?
For now, Mariworks’ plan will likely come before the Planning and Zoning Commission at 5:15 PM; Thursday, June 1st in City Council Chambers.
