During a taping of the Justa Coupla Guys podcast Monday, St. Charles Mayor Lora Vitek confirmed that a Special Use Application has been filed with the city to establish a second cannabis dispensary in St. Charles.
The application was filed on September 13 by Union Group of St. Charles LLC, whose ultimate owner appears to be PTS Corp, a cannabis provider formed in 2015 and currently based in Palatine. The proposed name of the new dispensary is listed as “Consume Cannabis of St. Charles.” The application seeks approval to locate a recreational cannabis dispensary within the Randall Plaza Shopping Center at 584 South Randall Road on the city’s west side.
Mayor Vitek seemed unsurprised.
“We already have one [recreational cannabis dispensary] on the East Side, and that has been very successful for Zen Leaf. And I want to remind people that it’s not only recreational cannabis but also medical, and many people use medical cannabis for their medical ailments and pain that they have. That [site] hasn’t caused any real issues, as our police chief would report. It’s been a very well-run site, it’s a very nice building.”
“The ordinance we passed a few years ago provided for two sites, one of which would be on the west side. So we will do the proper vetting with the City Council and public hearing but our ordinances do allow for one more site on the west side.”
The application is scheduled to be reviewed by the St. Charles Plan Commission at its public meeting on October 18 at 7pm.
St. Charles receives a 3% tax on all cannabis sales in the city. According to its latest financial report, this tax, enacted as of July 2020, “contributed greatly to the sales tax increase” for FY 2021. Statewide, it is estimated that sales taxes on cannabis have raised well over $445 million for the state in FY2022.
The full interview with Mayor Vitek will be published on Friday.
