Title
Presentation on Proposed Draft Code Amendments Related to Retail Cannabis Dispensaries
Staffreport
SUMMARY & RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that the City Council receive and review the attached presentation and provide relevant direction.
BACKGROUND
In December 2013, the City Council approved a medical cannabis regulatory ordinance to facilitate the approval, regulation, and operation of one cannabis dispensary in San Leandro. That ordinance, in conjunction with the subsequently codified California Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), implements strict zoning, security, and other requirements on the operations of cannabis businesses.
In December 2014, a request for applications from parties interested in serving as San Leandro’s first dispensary operator was publicly released and 15 teams ultimately applied for the first dispensary permit. Following a robust review of the 15 applicant proposals, the following three teams (in alphabetical order) were identified as having demonstrated the optimal combination of knowledge, expertise, experience, and alignment with the City Council’s adopted selection criteria:
Blum San Leandro
Davis Street Wellness Center (now known as NUG Wellness)
Harborside San Leandro
On September 8, 2015, the City Council unanimously voted to award the first dispensary permit to Harborside San Leandro.
Based upon City Council direction provided at subsequent Council meetings in 2015 and 2016, the City Council later adopted various amendments to the dispensary ordinance, including provisions that allowed for the issuance of up to three total dispensary permits, the latter two of which were ultimately awarded by the City Council to Davis Street Wellness Center (now known as NUG) and Blum San Leandro. All three businesses identified locations for their proposed dispensaries and ultimately received approval of separate Conditional Use Permits from the City of San Leandro Board of Zoning Adju...
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