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February 10, 2021
County Board to Consider Allowing Adult-Use Cannabis Businesses in Unincorporated Lake County
Public Hearing to be Announced at a Later Date
The Lake County Board voted unanimously on Feb. 9 to initiate the formal process to consider zoning regulations that would allow adult-use cannabis businesses to operate in unincorporated Lake County with certain restrictions.
A set of draft zoning regulations will be considered during a public hearing that will be held in the near future by the Zoning Board of Appeals. The date of the public hearing and other opportunities for public input will be announced in the coming weeks.
“I would like to thank the County Board and staff for taking the time to research and gather information on the adult-use cannabis topic, including lessons learned since Illinois’ new law took effect,” said Lake County Public Works, Planning, and Transportation Committee Chair Bill Durkin. “We’re now ready to move forward with the process for unincorporated Lake County and we look forward to hearing the public’s input on the proposed regulations in the coming weeks.”
While adult-use of cannabis has been legal in Illinois since Jan. 1, 2020, business establishments are currently prohibited to operate in unincorporated Lake County. Under Illinois law, Lake County government has the option to establish regulations to allow the production and sale of recreational cannabis in the unincorporated areas or to ban recreational cannabis businesses. Last February, the County Board chose to formally delay its decision until February 2021, to allow time to research health and law enforcement impacts and revenue implications of adult-use cannabis legalization.
In October 2019, the County Board approved an ordinance adopting a state-authorized tax for adult-use dispensary sales in municipalities. If the Lake County Board ultimately approves adult-use cannabis business zoning regulations, the ordinance will also be applicable to unincorporated dispensary sales.
The decision yesterday followed a series of meetings that began after the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act was signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker in 2019. Lake County initiated a countywide task force that was attended by representatives from many local municipalities to study and analyze the new law. The Lake County Board also discussed the subject at several committee meetings. Updates from these meetings can be found on Lake County's website.
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