Will County Gazette

The Woodridge Village Board approved a proposal last month that will bring Justice Cannabis to town, which is expected to have $5 million in sales per year and create 22 new jobs in the village.

The vote was taken on Nov. 3 following comments from Director of Community Development Kimberly Clark, a presentation from Justice Cannabis representative Mitch Zaveduk and discussion between the board members. According to information presented at the meeting, Justice Cannabis requested a special use permit from the village for a dispensary located at 900 Boughton Road.

“We had a few residents concerned about what are the concerns of traffic and or activities spilling beyond the use of the property here, which they can actually talk more in depth on as well,” said Clark. “The appropriateness of the use at this location. It's a highly visible commercial corridor where we want to see traditionally retail locate. It meets all of the distance requirements that we've established in our local ordinance as well as the state's requirements. So there's no issues there.”

Zaveduk said that patrons need to be 21 to enter the store, ensuring that no underage residents will be inside. He added that there will be limits in the system to prevent customers from ordering too much at one time. Justice Cannabis hired private security who are specially trained for the industry.

Clark said that the special use permit is tied to Justice Cannabis, noting that in the event the business decides not to use the location, the special use disappears. This would give the opportunity for someone else to apply.

“So unlike special uses that are typically running with the land, this will run with this particular entity,” said Clark.

Justice Cannabis started in 2014 in Illinois and has a focus on in-state projects. A traffic consultant was hired by the company for a study and found there will be less than 3% increase in traffic. The facility is an old furniture store that has plenty of parking, as well.

Zaveduk’s presentation noted that there will be about 22 new jobs created including 18 full-time positions. Also, there will be six to 12 employees at the location during all open hours, which are usually 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. He said the goal is to hire locals for the positions. Zaveduk also spoke about the additional sales tax that goes to the village.

“In addition to normal sales tax that any consumer pays, when you purchase cannabis you pay an additional tax,” said Zaveduk. “Because it is cannabis, 3% goes to the Village of Woodridge. Based on what we’ve seen from other dispensaries, we anticipate a gross sales at this store on the low end $5 million, on the high end $10 million, could be $20 million.”

The motion passed 5-1.