City Council
MEETING DATE: 7/22/2015
TITLE:
Title
Appeal of Planning Commission Denial of Conditional Use Permit Application for King Blaise Cooperative located at 68860 Ramon Road in Cathedral City.
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FROM:
Nicholas Hermsen, Deputy City Attorney
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
The City Attorney's office recommends that the City Council hear an appeal of the decision of the Planning Commission denying the Dispensary Conditional Use Permit application and affirm the findings and decision of the Planning Commission.
Body
BACKGROUND:
A. The Newly Enacted Ordinance and Planning Commission Determination
Last year, the City Council enacted an ordinance which allows three medical marijuana dispensaries to open and operate in the City, subject to a Conditional Use Permit ("CUP"). (The full ordinance is found at Cathedral City Municipal Code ("CCMC") chapter 9.108). Under the ordinance, a deadline was established to submit a CUP application to the City, after which a lottery was held to determine in which order the applications would be processed. A total of 24 applications were received, the lottery was held, and each of the applications has been ranked.
The instant application for King Blaise Cooperative is for the sixth-ranked application under the lottery. The proposed location is 68860 Ramon Road. The matter was considered by the Planning Commission on June 3, 2015, which determined that the proposed application was in violation of the CCMC due to issues discovered in the applicant's background check.
The administrative record for the Planning Commission meeting is attached to this staff report, including: (a) The Planning Commission Staff Report; (b) The application; (c) an email from attorney Michele McKee opposing the application; and (d) The Planning Commission Agenda.
The ordinance includes several criteria which automatically disqualify a particular applicant. Cathedral City Municipal Code section 9.108.100...
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