JOLIET — A proposal to fill an empty business building on Joliet’s West Jefferson Street, make $1.8 million in property improvements and generate around $360,000 in taxes for the city did not persuade Joliet’s five-person zoning board on Thursday afternoon to vote for a marijuana dispensary occupying the former NAPA Auto Parts store next to the Walgreens.

Last weekend, Joliet Patch broke the news, revealing that the proposed cannabis dispensary at 2121 West Jefferson Street aims to attract 300 to 700 customers every day, according to city documents.

Joliet’s zoning board voted 5-0 against the proposed special use permit at Thursday’s 2 p.m. meeting at City Hall. The zoning board members who voted against having the city’s first marijuana dispensary on West Jefferson Street consist of Ralph Bias, Ed Hennessy, Bob Nachtrieb, Jim Riggs, Brigette Roehr and Debbie Radakovich.

As a result of Thursday’s vote, the “Bisa Lina Cannabis Dispensary” will now go to the Joliet City Council for a final vote on the matter, probably in April.

The Bisa Lina Cannabis Dispensary needs a special use permit from the Joliet City Counci before it can open.

Joliet’s zoning board learned that the Bisa Lina Cannabis Dispensary already has an existing store in Carol Stream. Dev Patel, along with attorney Nathaniel Washburn, a partner with Joliet’s KGG Law Firm on Ottawa Street, were the two representatives for the Bisa Lina Cannabis Dispensary who spoke at the meeting.

Both men explained that the original intent of the state of Illinois was to issue 500 cannabis dispensary licenses, with the goal of having one for every 24,000 residents.

As it stands, Joliet, a growing city of more than 150,000, only has the two licenses granted to RISE, meaning that Joliet remains underserved, according to Patel.

The zoning board was informed by the proprietors of the project that Bisa Lina Cannabis Dispensary anticipated $12 million in gross revenue per year, meaning that the city of Joliet would stand to gain an additional $360,000 in new added sales tax revenue, if Bisa Lina opens at the former NAPA Auto Parts store near Hammes and West Jefferson.

Patel and attorney Washburn insisted their proposed marijuana dispensary business would not be negative competition for the two RISE marijuana stores on Joliet’s far west side because both of the existing RISE locations are more than four miles away. The RISE locations are near the Louis Joliet Mall and at the business park for Rock Run Creek near Houbolt Road and Interstate 80.

“Customers are very laid back, very respectful,” Patel informed the zoning board. “Joliet, without a shadow of a doubt, could support a third or fourth (cannabis) store. We believe Joliet is grossly underserved.”

Patel said the current state of the marijuana licenses in Joliet basically have allowed RISE to have a monopoly. He compared Joliet’s current plight to that of only allowing the city to have McDonald’s restaurants, but no other fast-food restaurants such as Burger King, Wendy’s, etc.

Patel said that America was founded on a free market economic system, therefore, having more cannabis stores in Joliet means more competition, which means better pricing for customers.

Joliet City Council write-in candidate Jim Lanham also urged the zoning board to support the cannabis dispensary proposed for the empty NAPA store. He said that fears of juveniles frequenting the store, loitering or other criminal activity taking place at the dispensary are completely unfounded and baseless.

“Incidents at these dispensaries just do not happen,” Lanham said. “This is good for Joliet.”

Following Thursday’s meeting, Lanham said he’s still optimistic that the Joliet City Council will override the zoning board’s decision.

“I’m sure there are at least three yes votes,” Lanham told Joliet Patch. “It needs five of the nine votes to pass. If I can get Mayor D’Arcy and Sherri Reardon, there is five. I’m also still trying to reach out to Larry Hug too.”

Lanham said the zoning board’s decision was totally based on outdated antiquated thinking.

During the meeting, one of the five members brought up the fact that he remembered marijuana being used during his time in the military in Vietnam. Another member asked if there were national statistics available concerning driving under the influence of marijuana.

One member asked if the former NAPA store was part of the St. Joe’s Medical Campus TIF District and then after being told that the property was not, she still voted against the cannabis store anyway.