Following a series of citywide community engagement meetings and working group sessions with community advocates, aldermen, business leaders, policy experts and cannabis professionals over the past month, City Council on Wednesday approved Mayor Lightfoot’s ordinance that establishes Chicago’s first zoning regulations for the sale of adult-use cannabis. The new substitute ordinance passed modifies the City’s downtown exclusion zone, strengthens regulations on residential, business, commercial, downtown and industrial zoning districts, and expands community input to ensure residents can petition against new dispensaries applying to establish in their neighborhood. As part of the ordinance, the City’s downtown exclusion zone bans cannabis sales north of the Chicago River from Lake Michigan to the east, State St. to the west and Division Street to the north. South of the Chicago River, cannabis sales are banned from Lake Michigan to the east, the Chicago River to the west and Van Buren Street to the south. Additionally, following Jan 1, 2021, the City will conduct a comprehensive land-impact study as part of an effort to analyze the environmental, economic and social impacts of dispensaries in various communities and determine in consultation with City Council whether adjustments to the designated cannabis zones and caps are needed. Over the next couple months, the City will continue to work with City Council, local businesses and community members to develop the rules and regulations to guide the licensure and cannabis consumption upon its legalization on Jan. 1, 2020.