City Council
MEETING DATE: 2/6/2018
TITLE:
Title
Update from the Cannabis Task Force Regarding Consumption Lounges and Employee Background Checks
End
FROM:
Charlie McClendon, City Manager
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
This item is provided for information, discussion and direction only.
Body
BACKGROUND:
Section 5.88.140 of the Municipal Code established the Cannabis Task Force and prescribes the composition of its membership. The ordinance provides for the appointment of the task force by the City Manager. After an open application period, the appointments were made and were reported to the City Council on December 14, 2016. The members of the task force are:
-Charlie McClendon, City Manager
-Pat Milos, Community Development Director
-Paul Wilson, Fire Chief
-Commander Julio Luna, Police
-Roger Culbertson, resident and patient
-Robert Hargreaves, Mayoral appointment
-Alice Daby, resident at-large
-Maria Scagliotti, Dispensary owner
-Scott Lambert, Cultivation owner
-Bernard Steimann, Manufacturing owner
DISCUSSION:
The task force most recently met on January 22, 2018. The primary topic of conversation centered around consumption lounges. Palm Springs recently passed ordinance to allow lounges and Denver has an ordinance allowing and regulating social clubs. Both ordinances were provided to the task force for their consideration. Proposition 64 also has language allowing on-site consumption but limits it to licensed dispensaries and only with local approval.
The task force was generally supportive of developing a regulatory structure to allow on-site consumption at locations meeting certain criteria:
-The business seeking an on-site consumption permit must be a licensed dispensary in good standing.
-The dispensary must be in a free-standing building or occupy all the suites in a multi-tenant building. The task force members were concerned about creating odor issues for adjacent businesses in multi-tenant buildings if smoking were allowed in the building.
-The product consumed in the on-site lounge much be purchased on-site. Customers may not bring their own.
-The lounge must be in a separate room or patio in the facility and must not be directly accessible from the outside.
-Product purchased at the lounge but not consumed may be packaged by the dispensary for carry-out in accordance with state and city packaging requirements.
-The zoning code already establishes the locations, terms and conditions under which dispensaries can locate in the City and the task force recommended that no further zoning or land use restrictions are needed.
The task force also discussed the current City requirement that all employees of a cannabis business undergo a background check prior to hire. Industry representatives stated that the requirement makes it extremely difficult for them to maintain full staffing due to the time required to complete the background check when a position becomes vacant. They are supportive of the current requirement that all owners and management staff undergo a background check but recommend the Council consider revising the current requirement for other employees.
Staff seeks guidance from Council on these issues and if direction is received to modify the code, an item will be prepared for a future agenda.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None
ATTACHMENTS:
Palm Springs ordinance
Denver ordinance