Marijuana business in Woodstock may open up sooner than expected after receiving special use permit

A marijuana business in Woodstock was given the go-ahead to adjust its operation at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, which may help it to open earlier than expected.

The business was approved for a special use permit, which would allow Six Labs Inc. to open its marijuana infusion and transportation business before it receives state approval to move forward with the third leg of its proposed operation, craft growing.

The business could open by the fall, Woodstock Building and Zoning Director Joseph Napolitano said.

Even with the change, officials with the business still hope to eventually carry out the original plan, which the council approved in 2020. The permit approved Tuesday is temporary and would expire in two years.

That plan calls for a new building to be constructed for craft growing on the property, which formerly was a Golf and Games miniature golf site at 1411 S. Eastwood Drive, north of Route 14. The plan also calls for the golf course in the front of the building to be removed, as well as fencing and landscape work to be done.

The permit approved Tuesday also allows 8-foot-tall trailers to be moved onto the site for storage, which would allow the business to get started sooner, city officials said.

Before the scaled-back business can open, it must be approved through the state for a few items, including a security plan, Napolitano said at the meeting.

Council member Wendy Piersall, the lone no vote on the permit, said at the meeting she was not impressed with the security plan the business put forth.

“I don’t see any procedures in this security plan,” she said. “I’m having a hard time … when we haven’t seen the full scope of what it is you’re doing. … I would love to see more.”

Michael Leuzzi, a founder of Six Labs and its director of real estate development and asset management, said they do have a variety of procedures, as required by the state. He offered to send it to the City Council.

Some council members also asked if it had to be opened on that site specifically, as Eastwood Drive is a major road leading into town. Before the vote, Mayor Michael Turner said he thought the business met the city’s requirements and said he thought the site was appropriate.

Turner also clarified that the city can pull the permit if the business isn’t following the ordinance. This includes aesthetics and odor, he said.

“This is a new thing in the state of Illinois,” Turner said. “For many of us, it’s highly unusual to be making this decision, ... but we are where we are.”

Council member Lisa Lohmeyer said based on the company’s history of opening shops in Michigan, where it has several locations, she felt comfortable voting in favor.

“If we had had to make a decision at the last meeting, there were a lot of unanswered questions that made us a little bit uneasy,” she said. “I feel very comfortable with where we’re at today.”

The business originally was approved in 2020 for a craft-growing, infusion and transportation business pending licensing from the state. Meanwhile, officials with Six Labs hope the current structure at the location will be turned into a dispensary at some point, which would need additional approvals from both the city and state.

The business still is waiting for a license for craft growing. Officials with Six Labs have said if they were not awarded one by the state, they would seek to buy one from somebody else.

Six Labs’ permit in 2020 was one of three issued by the city that year, which all called for similar businesses.

Recreational marijuana has been legal in Illinois for more than two years, but only in recent months has it begun to grow in McHenry County.

In February, the McHenry City Council gave the go-ahead on an infuser facility, while Crystal Lake has since approved two dispensaries in town. RISE Lake in the Hills was the county’s first dispensary, opening in March 2021.