EC cannabis vote draws near
EL CENTRO — A revised cannabis ordinance is expected to come before the City Council in April for possible approval, after the council provided some final suggestions during a Feb. 25 special meeting.
Though some members of the community had previously sought the inclusion of the downtown area in the ordinance’s overlay zone and non-storefront cannabis delivery operations, the council made no such recommendations during its meeting.
Instead, the city opted to limit the ordinance to solely allow for two storefront recreational cannabis operations, and left open the possibility that an additional number of permits for storefronts and delivery-only operators could be considered in the future.
“There’s a lot of learning we have to do before we expand in some capacity,” Mayor Efrain Silva said during the Feb. 25 meeting.
Some of the council’s recommended revisions included changes to how some buffer zones are measured. Such buffer zones establish a minimum distance requirement between a cannabis retailer and a sensitive location such as a school, church or residence.
While a 600-foot buffer was proposed between cannabis retailers and schools, parks and day care and youth centers, the ordinance recommended a buffer zone of 50 feet between a residence and a parcel containing a cannabis business.
Some council members questioned that distance requirement, noting that a parcel’s boundary may be situated closer than 50 feet to a residence while the parcel’s existing or planned structures may be located further away from the residence.
In response, city officials indicated they would produce a revised overlay map that took into account the council’s concern about the ordinance possibly eliminating entire parcels whose boundaries closely border residential areas while its structures are further removed.
City staff is also expected to revise a part of the ordinance regarding records and recordkeeping to provide additional clarification and transparency as it related to an operator’s tax returns.
Additionally, the council directed staff to include language in the ordinance that would provide code enforcement personnel and the Police Department with tools useful to shut down unlicensed businesses in a timely manner.
Police Chief Brian Johnson told city officials that they should be prepared for the ordinance possibly giving rise to the establishment of unlicensed storefront cannabis retailers, as other locales have experienced.
Shutting down unlicensed cannabis retailers has proven more difficult than imagined, and often requires lengthy civil court action that doesn’t prevent the retailer from continuing to operate in the interim, Johnson said.
“You’re talking probably a three- to a six-month process,” he said. “Once they do close down they will literally go across the street and reopen.”
City officials suggested increasing the maximum daily administrative penalty for businesses found to be operating without proper permitting from $500 to $1,000.
The city could potentially justify the increased fee schedule by demonstrating that the unlicensed businesses pose extraordinary environmental and public safety concerns, said City Attorney Elizabeth Martyn.
The Feb. 25 meeting followed two separate public hearings held in October and January that had sought the public’s input regarding the proposed cannabis ordinance.
Backup documents accompanying the Feb. 25 meeting agenda indicated that residents were supportive of establishing an ordinance regulating commercial cannabis businesses.
The proposed ordinance allows for commercial cannabis businesses to be located on property zoned heavy commercial, tourist commercial, general commercial, and light industrial.
Commercial cannabis permit applications will be ranked by criteria that is projected to be established by the city’s Community Development director later this month or early April. The top two applicants will be recommended for approval to the city manager. The council will have no say in the approval process.
The cannabis permit will be valid for a term of one year and may be renewed annually. Instead of an excise tax, the city has elected to establish a community benefit fee, which will be negotiated with authorized cannabis retailers.
Part of the benefit fee requires the authorized retailers to develop a public outreach and educational program for youth organizations and educational institutions that outlines the risks of youth addiction to cannabis, and that identifies resources available to youth related to drugs and drug addiction, the ordinance stated.
Once the ordinance is approved, it is hoped that city officials can begin accepting applications by May, with staff’s review of applications and the awarding of the two permits coming in June and July, respectively, city officials said on Feb. 25.
By choosing to authorize recreational cannabis operations, the city will be able to collect sales tax that is not applicable to medical marijuana sales, officials said. The two permitted storefronts will be authorized to provide delivery services for customers.