A lawsuit is challenging the city of Chicago’s approval of a proposed cannabis dispensary in the Streeterville neighborhood, objecting that the store would be too close to a nearby school.
The suit, filed last week by a neighborhood resident, Beth Padera, claims that the city Zoning Board of Appeals improperly approved a special use permit for G.P. Green House, doing business as Guaranteed Dispensary, at 620 N. Fairbanks Court.
The complaint notes that the city zoning administrator had recommended denial of the application because the dispensary would be slightly within 500 feet of Guidepost Montessori at Magnificent Mile, at 226 E. Illinois St., in violation of Chicago zoning law.
The school administrator had written a letter to the city stating that the facility adhered to state regulations for schools, but failed to state that it provides a “state-mandated basic education,” as required, which the ZBA concluded was vague and insufficient.
“The fact that nobody from Guidepost appeared at the hearing, despite multiple inquiries, also spoke volumes,” the ZBA wrote in its approval of the permit.
The lawsuit also echoed residents’ concerns that the pot shop would create congestion that would block traffic, particularly ambulances trying to reach Northwestern Memorial Hospital, a block away.
But again, the zoning board felt that because no one from Northwestern complained about the traffic, it was evidently not a concern to hospital officials.
The site, in a three-story building at Fairbanks and Ontario Street, just blocks from the tourist attraction of Navy Pier, previously housed a restaurant. An attorney for the dispensary, Jim Banks, had said that traffic to the new business would likely be less troublesome than the restaurant rush, and that prior concerns about cannabis shops creating crime or hurting property values have been disproven.
The suit also asserted that zoning board member and former Ald. Helen Shiller should have recused herself because her son, attorney Brendan Shiller, represented G.P. Green House in obtaining its a conditional adult-use license from the state.
Shiller previously said that she had no conflict because her son had not been involved in the city permit process.
The local alderman of the 2nd Ward, Brian Hopkins, opposed the permit based on the residents’ concerns.
Officials from the ZBA and G.P. Green House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But the ZBA found that the business would be compatible with the character of the high-rise, mixed residential and commercial neighborhood. It also noted in its approval that a small group of residents had “continuously” contacted the chairman and staff to further argue the issue, “at a level that some might view as bordering on harassment.”
The zoning board issued its written ruling Feb. 20. Shortly before that, the business submitted a permit application to build out the interior of the 5,925-square foot ground floor, and received city planning review approval in March.
