'Landslide' Victory For Recreational Marijuana Sales In Batavia

BATAVIA, IL — Recreational marijuana dispensaries could be coming to Batavia in the near future, with more than 61 percent of voters supporting a referendum to allow them to open in the city.

With all city precincts reporting vote totals, supporters of recreational marijuana sales hold a lead of more than 25 percentage points, according to unofficial election results. Kane County election results show 9,692 people voted in favor of the referendum while 5,711 voted against it.

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Batavia Mayor Jeffery Schielke previously indicated he would veto any procedural change to allow dispensaries to open in the city, but in January, he said he'd leave it up to "the will of the people" through a referendum question.

Medical marijuana dispensaries have been allowed to open in Batavia under city policy, but none have.

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The referendum is not binding, meaning a majority "Yes" vote does not guarantee officials will approve recreational dispensaries' applications to open in Batavia.

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Batavia officials are viewing the election results as a "landslide" victory for the referendum, Batavia Administrator Laura Newman told Patch.

The City Council has said it would listen to the will of the voters, Newman said, but it could take about three months for the City Council to pass a new ordinance and zoning changes to allow recreational marijuana dispensaries to open in the city.

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Newman said the city stands to bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in tax revenue if a dispensary opens within city limits.

"That would help tremendously, especially at a time like this," Newman said, noting the coronavirus pandemic has "put a real strain" on other revenue streams for the city.

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