WRIGLEYVILLE — During discussion of the proposed Lakeview medical marijuana dispensary, Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) made light of an oft-heard argument.
"Though the vast majority of people are very supportive of medical marijuana, it's always just like in real estate: location, location, location," Tunney said Tuesday.
In fact, some neighbors said just that during the two-hour meeting, insisting that while they saw a need for the dispensary in the neighborhood, 3812 N. Clark St. was not the place to put it.
But Tunney said with a "Good Neighbor Agreement" and more discussion, he hoped neighbors would see the added benefit of heightened security and community service MedMar Inc. would bring.
The proposed site just north of Uncommon Grounds is a second attempt by MedMar to establish a dispensary in Lakeview. In February, the Zoning Board of Appeals denied MedMar's request for a special-use permit for a dispensary at 2843 N. Halsted St.
Neighbors Tuesday feared the Clark Street dispensary would draw criminals to the block as a potential target for robberies and said the proximity to Wrigley Field could make it a difficult spot for patients to access.
Others called for compassion from their fellow neighbors. Among supporters were Howard Brown Health Center Vice President Michelle Wetzel and 24-year-old Victoria Probert.
Probert's epilepsy-induced seizures and severe migraines left her debilitated in her early years of college, while prescription drugs to treat the ailments caused dizziness and tingling sensations that felt like bugs crawling on her face, she said.
When a doctor told her to try marijuana, Probert said she found a way to cope with her disease.
"There are people here in this community who need this help. You just don't recognize them because who wants to come here to this meeting and say, 'I have seizures all the time. I'm really suffering and this is awful'? No one wants people to be sorry for them," Probert said.
She added that the small doses of marijuana — which MedMar said would typically be bought two grams at a time for roughly $70 — fit inside a prescription pill bottle.
"No one's hitting me in the head and stealing my weed. I'm not walking out with barrels of pot — you're getting a medicine's worth," she said.
Mark Thomann, a neighbor and father of three Blaine Elementary students, told MedMar representatives he believed the location violated the state law prohibiting a dispensary within 1,000 feet of a child day care center.
On Oct. 29, the city found MedMar in compliance with the regulation, although a zoning administrator noted she "cannot confirm or deny the existence of any home day care centers in the restricted area."
Thomann said House of the Good Shepherd, a domestic violence shelter within 600 feet of the proposed MedMar location, offers child care for women attending classes or working toward recovery.
"The [state law's] intent is they're trying to protect kids, so the intent of the law isn't for them to skirt it somehow," Thomann told DNAinfo.
Tunney is still waiting to hear from the state whether the unlicensed day care would be part of the restriction, his chief of staff Bennett Lawson said Tuesday.
MedMar attorney Katriina McGuire dodged the issue, asserting she felt the state issue was outside the scope of the city zoning and adding that she felt it was "entirely inappropriate" to discuss the organization due to its protective nature toward victims of abuse.
Her response was met with booing from the crowd, but the meeting was otherwise fairly orderly as MedMar provided detailed answers to neighbors' questions regarding security and operational procedures:
• A private security contractor would be on-site 24/7, while surveillance cameras must have the ability to identify any vehicle license plate that passes through the alley behind the dispensary. Cameras would also have facial-recognition technology.
• State regulators have constant access to security video feeds and can inspect the dispensary at any time. MedMar said it expects monthly checks during the pilot program's duration.
• Four registered nurses, pharmacists or pharmacy technicians would be working during the 8 a.m.-8 p.m. weekday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday operating hours. (It would be closed on Saturdays).
• Up to four patients would be allowed in the dispensary at a time.
• The state-chartered Millennium Bank would allow MedMar to accept checks and, eventually, prepaid debit cards, meaning customers don't have to pay with cash.
• Unlike the not-for-profit Rosecrance Lakeview, MedMar would pay property taxes and sales taxes as a for-profit venture.
(Get answers to other frequently asked questions on the Illinois Medical Cannabis Pilot Program here.)
The clock is ticking on MedMar's state registration, which must be completed by Dec. 31, leaving neighbors scrambling to get answers before the Dec. 18 zoning hearing.
A location that meets state requirements within the Lake View Township area — a large North Side area from North Avenue to Devon Avenue and Western Avenue to the lakefront — was difficult to come by, said MedMar head of security John Sullivan.
In fact, no properties were available in the entire 46th Ward, he added.
MedMar was accused of trying to sneak its proposal past neighbors, but McGuire countered that the company had contacted Tunney's office the same day it received notice from city officials that the location didn't violate state restrictions.
MedMar is among 13 Chicago applicants who received dispensary licenses this year as part of the state pilot program. Dispensary 33 in Andersonville was the first to open its doors in the city, but is still awaiting permission to begin selling.
About a dozen dispensaries statewide are expected to open by the end of November, including MedMar's Rockford location.
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