City Council
MEETING DATE: 7/22/2015
TITLE:
Title
Update on Status of Medical Marijuana Dispensary Application Process
End
FROM:
Charles Green, City Attorney
Nicholas Hermsen, Deputy City Attorney
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council receive and consider this report.
Body
BACKGROUND:
In August, 2014, the City Council enacted Municipal Code Chapter 9.108, which authorized the establishment of up to three medical marijuana dispensaries in the City. The City received twenty-four (24) applications for the three slots, and a lottery was held in September, 2014, to determine the order in which the applications would be processed.
The first applicant, Green Cross Pharma, located at 68730 Summit Drive, had its application granted by the Planning Commission in December, 2014. The City Council affirmed the granting of the application on appeal in January, 2015. The facility has not yet opened; the latest information we have as of the date of the preparation of this staff report (July 10) is that their target opening date is July 31. Since January, Green Cross Pharma has been trying to meet the City’s usual building and development requirements. Our office is not directly involved with that issue, but we have received updates from staff. Staff has indicated Green Cross Pharma lacks substantial experience in this area, creating some delays in opening.
The second through sixth ranked applications have each been denied by the Planning Commission and/or the City Council for various reasons. (The sixth ranked applicant’s denial is scheduled for an appeal to the City Council currently).
Following their respective denials, the City was sued by the second-ranked applicant (Cathedral City Care Collective), the third-ranked applicant (Green Connect), and the fifth-ranked applicant (Sunshine Coast Wellness). The City prevailed in all three cases at the Superior Court level. To date, none of the cases have been appealed. The deadline for appeal has not yet begin to run, as the City has been waiting for the Court to execute written judgments which start the clock running on the time for appeal. Our office has been following-up frequently to monitor the judgments and the resulting deadline. The City Attorney’s office continues to attempt to settle the matter; the issue relates to the return of the deposit.
The 7th ranked applicant proposed the same location as the 6th ranked applicant; for that reason the 7th ranked application is on hold pending the determination by the City Council on the appeal. However, the Police Department has commenced the background check for the 8th ranked applicant which is currently pending. The application will be scheduled for hearing before the Planning Commission immediately once the background check is completed.