Riverside has rejected an informal request from the village’s only dispensary that would have allowed it to open one hour earlier each day.
As part of its Feb. 28 meeting, the Riverside planning and zoning commission discussed a petition to change the village’s zoning code to allow adult-use cannabis businesses to open at 8 a.m. rather than 9 a.m. The petition was filed by the village of Riverside on behalf of Star Buds, the only cannabis dispensary in town, which informally contacted the village about the change in January.
At the meeting, which also served as a public hearing, commissioners said they initially supported the move; however, after nearly half an hour of discussion, they rejected the bid and only changed some ambiguous wording within the zoning code.
The zoning code change was first mentioned by village president Douglas Pollock at the Jan. 18 village board meeting, during which he said village staff had “received an inquiry” from the dispensary about opening earlier. At that meeting, the village board approved having the planning and zoning commission consider amending the code.
Under the Riverside zoning code, dispensaries are permitted to operate from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., but at the