Galesburg Council will hold a discussion at their meeting Monday night on the proposed ordinance regulating cannabis business in town.
Illinois will legalize recreational sale and use of marijuana on Jan.1, and so municipalities are updating their codes accordingly.
The proposal is to tax cannabis in Galesburg at 3 percent in addition to the 8.75 percent sales tax already applied between City, County, and State sales tax.
The zoning of where certain cannabis businesses would be allowed to operate generally includes where businesses operate, although no cannabis business would be allowed in the main shopping district of downtown.
They would be allowed in on the northernmost part of Henderson Street, the North Seminary Shopping District, a stretch of Grand Avenue, in addition to some other pockets.
For processing, testing and large scale growing must take place in areas zoned for industrial use.
That most prominently would be the Southwest side of town, around the area of Dick Blick the former Maytag site.
The city council will have two parking-related items on the agenda.
First, Aldermen can approve purchasing more of a downtown parking lot, giving downtown visitors 19 more spaces.
The City already owns Parking Lot M, a small lot west of Kohl’s Diamond Gallery.
The proposal is to purchase an L-shaped chunk of the lot that is owned by Rob Benedict.
Galesburg Aldermen will also hold discussion tonight on an ordinance change that might have you watching more carefully where you park.
Currently, city code doesn’t allow a vehicle to be parked within five feet of a driveway if the spot is marked with an authorized sign or yellow markings on the curb.
The proposed change would ban any parking within five feet of a driveway, regardless of markings and signage.
Administration viewed the municipal codes for other cities and found that many restrict parking without having the markings.
Aldermen meet at City Hall at 5:30 p.m.
