Ald. Debra Silverstein (50), chair of the license and consumer protection committee, is pictured at a City Council meeting in October 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on License and Consumer Protection on Tuesday will consider a measure adding parts of Belmont Cragin and Hermosa to the city’s growing list of areas where intoxicating hemp sales are banned and the renewal of a business permit for a delivery robot company. 

The committee will meet at 10:30 a.m. in Room 201A at City Hall.

The committee will consider an ordinance (O2025-0016747) from Ald. Walter Burnett (27) to renew an emerging business permit for Cyan Robotics Inc., which now goes by Coco Robotics and intends to continue to use the permit for its use of delivery robots — small, boxy, four-wheeled vehicles that travel on sidewalks and provide last-mile delivery. 

If approved, the permit, currently set to expire at the end of this month, would last an additional two years. 

The city grants an emerging business permit to companies that intend to operate a non-traditional business that isn’t currently covered by existing city business licensing regulations. The permits, which last for two years and are intended to be non-renewable, allow the proposed businesses the opportunity to operate on an “experimental basis” and sometimes under specific conditions set by the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP).  

The permits are offered when a proposed business “presents potential risks to the public health, safety and welfare such that, for the protection of the public, the activity must be subject to more intense regulation than would be associated with a limited business license,” according to city code.

Despite the typical two-year permit term, a BACP spokesperson told The Daily Line in a statement that the extension "is to allow more time for the company and the city to test the viability" of Coco's business. "They are currently the only operator and others could come in during the pilot if they choose," the spokesperson added.  

Along with renewing the permit, the ordinance also proposes to allow the delivery robots to display third-party advertising and would give the BACP the power to create an application process to display ads and set standards. 

The committee will also consider the latest proposed ordinance (O2025-0016755) to prohibit the sale of hemp-derived intoxicants in part of the city. Ald. Felix Cardona (31) introduced the proposal, which would ban the sale and distribution of the products, such as those containing delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, in his ward. 

It would follow similar bans that have been approved by the City Council this year in the 13th, 23rd, 9th and 10th wards. 

Finally, the license and consumer protection committee will consider an ordinance (O2024-0013637) that would amend and add new disclosure requirements for operators of short-term, shared housing and vacation rentals, such as those that are booked through platforms such as AirBNB and Vrbo. The ordinance would also add more specifics about how BACP must maintain a database of the city’s short-term rentals. 

The ordinance, sponsored by Ald. Bennett Lawson (44), would add new requirements that short-term rentals must clearly disclose their occupancy limits, a local contact person and all associated costs and fees that a customer would be charged for a rental.

In a fact sheet shared with The Daily Line, Lawson's office said: "These amendments enhance the city’s regulatory framework for short-term rentals by improving aldermanic access to key information, establishing onsite contacts, and reinforcing already present compliance requirements."