Days after MOCA Modern Cannabis opened a dispensary in River North, the city issued a stop work order for failing to obtain the proper work permits.
The dispensary temporarily shut down Friday afternoon.
“We have a few minor issues related to our building permits to sort out,” said Danny Marks, CEO and co-founder of MOCA. “It should be resolved quickly.”
The stop work order, which the city issued Thursday, will be lifted once MOCA complies with Chicago’s dispensary requirements and pays a minimum fine of $625, said Mimi Simon, a spokeswoman for the city’s buildings department.
Marks said Monday that the company is actively working with the city’s buildings department to resolve any issues. He hopes to reopen sometime this week.
MOCA, which operates another dispensary in the Logan Square neighborhood, opened its River North location last Wednesday.
Marks said the confusion stemmed from the fact that the company did not do any construction on the River North building before moving in, only cosmetic work. The building, at 216 W. Ohio St., previously served as a restaurant, and Marks said there was a misunderstanding with how to treat the change in use.
Matthew Beaudet, the acting commissioner of the city’s buildings department, sent a letter regarding the stop work order to Bret Bender, deputy director of the Cannabis Control Section in the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which regulates dispensaries.
MOCA failed to obtain a renovation building permit for the property, but the city “remains ready to work with” MOCA to meet the requirements, Beaudet said in the letter.
To open a dispensary in Chicago, companies must obtain a license from the state and get approval from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals.
The zoning board approved MOCA’s plans for its new River North shop in early March, along with four other dispensaries, including another one in the same neighborhood.
The marijuana shops opening in recent weeks are the first to open under the state’s recreational weed program. They must abide by strict state and local rules.
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