SUPERVISORS OK THIRD CANNABIS SHOP IN HIGHGROVE

Outlet expects to be able to serve up to 400 customers daily

Riverside County supervisors on March 30 approved the third cannabis retail outlet in the unincorporated community of Highgrove, without public opposition.

Cannabis 21, which already operates multiple marijuana sales locations in the county, received authorization to open the newest one at 203 La Cadena Drive, just south of Interstate 215.

Board of Supervisors Chair Karen Spiegel told company representative Sean St. Peter that the cannabis store will “certainly improve the area,” where a junkyard dominates the block.

“It’s such an eyesore,” Spiegel said about the area as it is now.

The store, which is expected to open later this year, will be within a few blocks of two distribution facilities approved by the board in the last year. The location has been specifically zoned for cannabis retail and manufacturing operations.

Cannabis 21’s storefront and mobile delivery service will be run out of a two-story, 4,150-square-foot building that previously served as a factory for making concrete products, according to the county Transportation & Land Management Agency.

TLMA documents state the retailer will employ more than 10 people, working two separate shifts, seven days a week, during the hours of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Armed security guards will be on-site during business hours.

It’s anticipated the outlet could serve up to 400 customers daily.

On Feb. 17, the county Planning Commission unanimously approved the proposal and forwarded it to the board for final authorization.

Under the 10-year conditional use permit and development agreement, Cannabis 21 will be required to make a first-year public benefits payment to the county totaling $76,604. An ongoing annual payment of $89,505 will be owed, as well, helping cover the expense of additional law enforcement services in the area, according to the TLMA. That amount will be increased 5 percent annually as part of an inflation adjustment.

The board has previously authorized dispensaries and manufacturing facilities in Bermuda Dunes, Green Acres, Lakeland Village, Mead Valley and Temescal

Valley.

The county’s 2018 Marijuana Comprehensive Regulatory Framework, codified under Ordinance No. 348, provides for steps that prospective businesses must take to be eligible for permits. Safety and health safeguards are part of the regulatory stipulations.

To date, the board has approved only indoor marijuana manufacturing and distribution outlets — not outdoor commercial cannabis grows — in unincorporated communities.