Batavia’s first cannabis dispensary closer to approval despite resident objections

Plans for what would be Batavia‘s first cannabis dispensary moved closer to approval with a positive recommendation from City Council members at the Jan. 14 Committee of the Whole meeting.

The city is in the process of reviewing an application from Boston based Rubino Ventures, LLC for a special use permit to open the city’s first cannabis shop.

At their Dec. 18 meeting, Plan Commission members recommended approving the plans to operate a recreational cannabis dispensary called Dutchess Cannabis out of a vacant storefront on Randall Road.

The subject property is the former Arby’s restaurant at 144 S. Randall Road. The property is owned by Chicago-based corporation MGMN Batavia LLC and has been vacant since 2018.

This would be the fifth Dutchess Cannabis location, adding to operating dispensaries in Oak Park and Morton Grove, and two in development in Lake Zurich and North Riverside.

Proposed hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.

Attorney Tyler Manic represented the business owenrs at the Committee of the Whole meeting, along with Vice President of Operations Alexis Bigi-Prow.

Bigi-Prow told committee members that if they receive city approval, they would like to begin construction in February and open by June 4.

Two Batavia residents, Lois Dahlstrom and Joan Clayton, made public comment during the meeting, expressing their opposition to the dispensary.

Clayton said she was against the dispensary because of its proximity to Batavia High School. She said, as a former D.A.R.E. instructor, that cannabis is a gateway drug and claimed the dispensary would cause headaches for the police department and more accidents on Randall Road.

While both Clayton and Dahlstrom claimed that Batavia residents do not want a dispensary in town, Mayor Jeffrey Schielke reminded them that 63% of voters in the community voted to allow cannabis dispensaries in a 2020 referendum.

Despite the objections from residents, committee members recommended approval of the special use permit in an 11-1 split vote. Alderman Nicholas Cerone cast the sole no vote and Alderman Dustin Pieper abstained.

With a positive recommendation from the Committee of the Whole, the application will be reviewed again at the Jan. 21 City Council meeting for possible final approval.