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Recreational Cannabis Information
Licensure: The Illinois Department of Agriculture administers craft grower licenses and provides the license application.
Zoning: Craft growers may be allowed as a conditional use by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. For more information on applying for conditional use, please contact the Community Development Department at 847-931-5920. Staff can provide a Conditional Use application packet and verify the proposed location of the business qualifies for the proposed cannabis business and will explain the conditional use approval process and timeline.
Licensure: The Illinois Department of Agriculture has processed Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center licenses, which apply to existing medical cultivation centers seeking authority to cultivate for recreational purposes. For more information on subsequent cultivation licenses please call the Department at 217.782.2172.
Zoning: Cultivation centers may be allowed as a conditional use by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. For more information on applying for conditional use, please contact the Community Development Department at 847-931-5920. Staff can provide a Conditional Use Application packet and verify the proposed location of the business qualifies for the proposed cannabis business and will explain the conditional use approval process and timeline.
Licensure: The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation regulates dispensary licenses and more information on the agency’s licensure process can be found here.
Zoning: Dispensing organizations may be allowed as a conditional use by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. For more information on applying for “conditional use," please contact the Community Development Department at 847-931-5920. Staff can provide a Conditional Use Application packet and verify the proposed location of the business qualifies for the proposed cannabis business and will explain the conditional use approval process and timeline. In addition to all state-imposed minimum distance limits, a dispensing organization shall not be located within two hundred fifty feet (250’) of the property line of a pre-existing public or private preschool or elementary or secondary school or daycare center, daycare home, group daycare home, part day childcare facility, college, or university, or a publicly owned or operated park or forest preserve.
Licensure: The Illinois Department of Agriculture administers infuser licenses and provides the license application.
Zoning: Infuser organizations may be allowed as a conditional use by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. For more information on applying for conditional use, please contact the Community Development Department at 847-931-5920. Staff can provide a Conditional Use Application packet and verify the proposed location of the business qualifies for the proposed cannabis business and will explain the conditional use approval process and timeline.
Licensure: The Illinois Department of Agriculture administers processor licenses and provides the license application.
Zoning: Processing organizations may be allowed as a conditional use by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. For more information on applying for conditional use, please contact the Community Development Department at 847-931-5920. Staff can provide a Conditional Use Application packet and verify the proposed location of the business qualifies for the proposed cannabis business and will explain the conditional use approval process and timeline.
Licensure: The Illinois Department of Agriculture administers transporting organization licenses and provides the license application.
Zoning: Transporting organizations may be allowed as a conditional use by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. For more information on applying for conditional use, please contact the Community Development Department at 847-931-5920. Staff can provide a Conditional Use Application packet and verify the proposed location of the business qualifies for the proposed cannabis business and will explain the conditional use approval process and timeline.
Licensure: The Illinois Department of Agriculture administers testing facility licenses and provides the license application.
Zoning
We’ve made it easy for you to find where you can and cannot open a cannabis businesses, depending on the type of business you are looking to open (cultivation centers, dispensing organizations, infuser, processing, transporting and testing facilities).
When viewing the maps, please note areas in gray represent areas not zoned for these uses and/or areas not setback far enough from sensitive land uses.
The following types of cannabis business may be allowed as a conditional use in the NB, AB, CC1 and CC2 districts:
- Adult-use cannabis dispensing organizations
- Medical cannabis dispensing organizations
The following types of cannabis business may be allowed as a conditional use in the GI and ORI districts:
- Adult-use cannabis cultivation center
- Adult-use cannabis craft grower
- Adult-use cannabis processing organization
- Adult-use cannabis infuser organization
- Adult-use cannabis transportation organization
Cannabis testing facilities are only allowed as a permitted use in the GI, ORI and CI districts.
Districts
- NB District - Neighborhood Business
- AB - Area Business
- CC1 - Center City 1
- CC2 - Center City 2
- GI - General Industrial
- ORI - Office Research Industrial
- CI - Commercial Industrial
For the full, official City of Elgin zoning map, click here.
Conditional Use
Prior to completing the application, please contact the Community Development staff at 847-931-5920 so that they can verify the proposed location of the business qualifies for the proposed cannabis business and explain the conditional use approval process and timeline.
Recreational Cannabis FAQs
Is a license required to operate a cannabis establishment in Illinois?
Yes. The Illinois Office of Cannabis Control shall issue licenses for all dispensing organizations. Dispensing organizations are defined as a facility operated by an organization or business that is licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to acquire cannabis from a cultivation center, craft grower, processing organization or another dispensary for the purpose of selling or dispensing cannabis, cannabis-infused products, cannabis seeds, paraphernalia or related supplies to purchasers or to qualified registered medical cannabis patients and caregivers.
Yes. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to sell, give away, deliver, possess with intent to sell at wholesale or retail, possess with intent to give away or deliver for promotional purposes, either retail or wholesale, any cannabis, cannabis-infused products, cannabis seeds, paraphernalia or related supplies within the City without first having obtained a license from the State of Illinois. Proof of said license is required prior to the approval by the City of a conditional use. Finally, all cannabis business establishments must obtain an annual business license from the City. No fee is required for an Elgin business license.
What is a conditional use?
Conditional use is a zoning term for uses (businesses) that have to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis through a public hearing review process. Applicants must submit a Development Application for the conditional use. The City’s Planning and Zoning Commission conducts the public hearing, considers the application, and makes a recommendation to City Council. Lastly, City Council reviews the recommendation and makes the final decision on whether or not to approve the application.
What is a permitted use?
Permitted use is zoning term for uses (businesses) which are allowed “by-right,” meaning the applicant can directly apply for a commercial occupancy permit to operate from within a commercial space or a building, or apply for a building permit to complete any interior or exterior renovation/construction necessary to open up the businesses. If any renovation/construction work is necessary, the occupancy permit and a certificate of occupancy are issued after all construction is completed and the commercial space has been approved for occupancy.
How do I apply for a conditional use to open a cannabis business?
The Conditional Use Application can be found here. Prior to completing, please contact the Community Development Department at 847-931-5920 so that staff can verify the proposed location of the business qualifies for the proposed cannabis business and explain the conditional use approval process and timeline.
What is the application fee for conditional use applications?
Application fees for a conditional use in 2021 are $1,510 + $170 per street frontage of the property where the business would be located (due to the need to place a zoning hearing sign on each street frontage). However, some applications may require other types of zoning approval based on any proposed changes to the property. Please contact City staff at 847-931-5920 prior to submitting the conditional use application so that staff can verify your proposal does not require any other type of zoning approval.
How long does it take to get conditional use approval to open a cannabis business establishment?
The conditional use approval process (sometimes referred to as the zoning approval process) takes 60-90 days on average from the date the City receives a complete application to final determination by the City Council to approve or deny a conditional use application.
With conditional use approval, additional time should still be allotted for the building permit and occupancy permit review, and any build-out necessary for the business operation. Before the issuance of an occupancy permit or otherwise opening to the public, the applicant must file a copy of all required state licenses to operate with the City
A cannabis business establishment may start operating after the Certificate of Occupancy has been issued by the City of Elgin.
- Application.
- Application fee.
- Legal description of the property in Microsoft Word Format
- Consent and Disclosure (varies based on who the applicant and property owner is. Please Contact Community Development Department at 847.931.5920 for more information specific to your application).
- Plat of Survey.
- Development plans (including but not limited to: site plan, landscape plan, floor plans, elevations, outdoor lighting plan, signage plan, etc., as applicable).
- Statement of Purpose and Conformance (businesses operations narrative, which also addresses standards for approval of conditional uses).
- A complete copy of all applications and plans submitted for required state licenses.
- An inventory control plan.
- A floor plan.
- A plan for the removal, recycling, disposal, and/or destruction of cannabis waste.
- A security and outdoor lighting plan. The Elgin Police Department shall review the items required by this subsection and forward its recommendation regarding same to the Planning & Zoning Commission prior to the public hearing for the conditional use.
- An odor control plan, if applicable.
Does the City limit the number of cannabis businesses?
No. The City of Elgin does not have restrictions on how many adult-use cannabis businesses can be approved, but the State of Illinois requires a 1,500-foot separation between certain types of cannabis businesses.
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Community Development
Physical Address
150 Dexter Court
Elgin, IL 60120
Phone: : 847-931-5920Fax: : 847-931-6790