BRADLEY — Despite a packed Bradley Village Board meeting room with what appeared to be those opposed to a second marijuana dispensary being located in Bradley, the village may now be home to two such establishments.
At Monday’s board meeting, the village board voted 6-0 to approve a special use permit for Deer Park Partners LLC of Highland Park to operate a retail marijuana business.
The request from Deer Park principal Mike Phillips was approved for the site at 1300 Locke Drive, the vacant site which had most recently been the home of The Salvation Army Thrift Store and prior to that, an Aldi grocery store. The request had already received approval from the Bradley Planning Commission on March 1 by a 5-1 vote.
After Monday’s meeting, Phillips said the next task is to get approval from the state regarding the site plan and security measures before issuing a dispensary license.
He is hopeful the site can be operational yet this year. At a previous meeting, he said there are plans to invest an estimated $1 million into the location. He will be leasing about half of the 17,000-square-foot property from PSI Inc., a Kankakee-based construction company, which purchased the location about 18 months ago.
The state is dealing with a lawsuit claiming it did not act in a fair nor unbiased way when it came to promoting social equity within the marijuana industry regarding business licensing.
This lawsuit is anticipated to be ruled upon this month.
Before a standing-room-only audience within the village board’s meeting room, 10 citizens addressed the administration and the trustees stating their support or opposition to the village having a second dispensary.
The first dispensary took a step forward in September when the board approved a special use permit for a Round Lake Beach, Ill-based GRD Illinois LLC to develop a retail marijuana site in the former Pier 1 Import store immediately west of the Northfield Square mall. GRD is also awaiting its approvals from the state.
At Monday’s meeting, Trustee Gene Jordan made the motion to approve the Deer Park permit and it was seconded by Trustee Brian Billingsley.
During the public comment portion of Monday’s meeting, 10 people spoke before the board. Of the 10, nine spoke in opposition.
Natalie Heagle, 21, a resident of Manteno, spoke against the site. She noted even though she is not a village resident, she spends time in Bradley and did not believe this would enhance the community.
She spoke of the harm this could bring upon the younger residents.
“It will affect the lives of someone’s kids,” she said. “It’s a mind-altering drug. I understand it will provide some money to the community.”
But, she added, it will also bring more harm to the community.
Pastor Terry Anglea, of the Faith Baptist Church, 1280 Armour Road, Bourbonnais, which would be perhaps 1 mile from the dispensary, also voiced opposition to the permit.
He said while it may be true the business will bring tax revenue to the village, “there are many things more important than money.”
He described marijuana as a “gateway” drug, meaning it leads to further drug use, and he urged a “no” vote by the board. “Maintain the nice hometown feel for the village of Bradley,” he said.
The only person who spoke in favor was resident Larry Denoyer, a man in his 90s who said he has used marijuana to aid pain relief as it is far more effective than medications prescribed by doctors.
After the meeting, Mayor Mike Watson said he knew this would be a touchy situation, but he said if people have issues with locations such as this, they should take the matter up with legislators in Springfield as they as the ones responsible for clearing the path for these locations.
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