News Flash

See the tentative timeline for cannabis applications posted to the City website below.

Commercial Cannabis Business Permit Applications, Period 1

Tentative Timeline

IMPORTANT NOTE: The timeline provided below includes approximate timeframes and these timeframes are subject to substantial changes.   The timeline assumes no appeals specifically for Phase I and minimal appeals for Phase II.  If an appeal(s) is filed at the conclusion of Phase I, or numerous appeals after any phase, this would cause significant changes to the timeline and would at a minimum push Phase III, Part 1 to January 2022, and Phase III, part 2 to February/March 2022, and Phase IV to March/April 2022.

• August 11, 2021 – Application Period 1 Closed
  1. Application Period 1 only allowed applications for businesses in the non-Coastal Zone (up to 3 retail and 10 industrial-type permits may be awarded).  The window for application Period 2 is pending a final decision from the CA Coastal Commission.  We anticipate this will not happen until 2022.

• September – October 2021 - Phase II: Criteria Evaluation and Scoring
  1. The City’s consultant will review and score Sections A-D of each application (Sections listed below).  A description of the evaluation criteria being scored in this phase can be found in the Application Procedures & Guidelines (pgs. 8-10).
     • Section A - Business Plan 
     • Section B - Labor, Diversity, and Inclusion Plan 
     • Section C - Safety Plan 
     • Section D - Security Plan                                  
• November 2021 - Phase III (Part 1 – Selection Committee): Further Evaluation, Interviews and Scoring
  1. Tentative window for interviews: November 10-18, 2021.  
  2. Appeals after Phase II could delay Phase III to December/January.
  3. The Staff Selection Committee will conduct interviews using the evaluation criteria for Sections E-H of each application (Sections listed below).  A description of the evaluation criteria being scored in this phase can be found in the Application Procedures & Guidelines (pgs. 10-12).
     • Section E - Qualifications of Owners  
     • Section F - Neighborhood Compatibility 
     •  Section G - Community Benefits and Investments Plan
     • Section H - Proposed Location          
  4. Phase III appeals: December 2021/January 2022

• January 2022 - Phase III (Part 2 – Public Meeting): Further Evaluation, Interviews and Scoring
  1. Finalists will be invited to a Public Meeting where applicants will be able to address concerns from the public about the specific proposed locations.  Notices about this meeting will be mailed to all property owners within 300’ of the proposed locations, and posted on the proposed location site, as well as the City website.

• February/March 2021 - Phase IV – City Manager’s Final Selection
  1. When the City Manager receives the report from City staff on the final applicants, including feedback from the public meeting, he will use this information to make a final decision pursuant to SBMC Section 6.420.230 (a)(5).
  2. Phase IV appeals.