A Danville City Council vote on Mariworks, LLC out of Chicago setting up a nuEra cannabis dispensary south of the I-74 – Lynch Road interchange is scheduled for Tuesday (June 18th) evening’s Council meeting. It was back on June 6th that the Danville Planning and Zoning Commission voted to send the project to the full Council with a positive recommendation.
It was last year that Mariworks was turned down by the Planning and Zoning Commission on a dispensary plan on the west side of Lynch Road, north of I-74; with the main issue being concern about too many dispensaries in one general area. At that time, Sunnyside already existed on the east side of Lynch; and Seven Point of Illinois, now open, had been approved for the west side of Lynch.
This time, however, besides a different location; Mariworks’ plan includes a Casey’s Truck Stop; with Casey’s contributing to the cost of establishing the brand new infrastructure that would be needed in that area. The plan calls for other future businesses to be included as well.
Seven Point of Illinois CEO Brad Zerman, shown displaying some products just prior to Seven Point’s opening; says considering a third dispensary in Danville is unfair to both Seven Point and Sunnyside; and the prior commitment both have made to Danville.
Seven Point of Illinois CEO Brad Zerman says he’s hoping the full city council sees a few problems with this. He says first and foremost; adding a third Danville dispensary; fourth in the area when you include Parkway Dispensary in Tilton, is not fair to those who have already come to Danville.
AUDIO: There’s not going to be any increase in the market for people buying cannabis. The existing stores who made a commitment to Danville early on will suffer. The employees at Sunnyside and Seven Point will likely suffer. nuEra will just take part of our business, part of Sunnyside’s business, that will not be able to be replaced. Employees’ jobs are on the line.
Zerman says he realizes a new truck stop is a shiny object that attracts the Council’s attention; but he believes that a new truck stop should be considered on it’s own, and not along with another dispensary.
NuEra Chief Operations Officer Laura Jaramillo Bernal has expressed confidence going into Tuesday evening’s vote. “We think we have the best possible proposal for Danville. It really maximizes benefits for the city. It maximizes not just the income that can come from cannabis taxes; but beyond that it really becomes the puzzle piece that unlocks a lot of additional development and additional growth in the city that could generate jobs, generate additional tax revenue for the city, and generate amenities for city residents and workers in the area.”
Danville Community Development Administrator Logan Cronk says all the other stuff that might come besides the dispensary is more in the background right now.
AUDIO: Really, what’s at hand is the special use permit for another adult use cannabis dispensary. They should be reviewing the zoning of the property, how it fits the property; and the other potential development to come afterwards is just a benefit.
Tuesday night’s (June 18th) Danville City Council meeting is set for 6 PM.
