JEFFERSON PARK — Ald. John Arena (45th) will hold a community meeting Dec. 11 to discuss a proposal that could allow the second of two medical marijuana dispensaries to open near Lawrence and Milwaukee avenues.
EuFlora Health Center, which is based Downtown, has asked city officials for a special-use permit to open a dispensary at at 4760½ N. Milwaukee Ave.
The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Dec. 11 at the Wilson Park Fieldhouse, 4630 N. Milwaukee Ave.
City officials approved Curative Health's request last month for a special-use permit for a dispensary at 4758 N. Milwaukee Ave., two storefronts away from EuFlora's proposed dispensary.
Arena took no position on that request, saying the reaction of the community was split.
The dispensaries must also be licensed by state officials.
The proposed dispensaries would be on the same block as Arena's 45th Ward office. The dispensaries would be separated by one storefront — the I Am Trendii boutique, which sells women's clothing and accessories.
It is unlikely both dispensaries would be approved, Arena has said.
State officials have said they plan to issue no more than two licenses for dispensaries in Jefferson Township, which includes most of the Far Northwest Side.
A third application for a special permit in Jefferson Township and the 45th Ward has been made by California-based IL Grown Medicine at 4739 W. Montrose Ave. in Old Irving Park. A community meeting has not yet been scheduled on that proposal.
The city's Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled to consider EuFlora's proposal at its Dec. 19 meeting.
Dispensaries must be 1,000 feet from schools and daycare centers and can't be in residences, according to city regulations. Thirteen of the 60 Illinois dispensaries can be in the city, according to state law.
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