§ 5.80.020. Business permit and application required.  


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  • A.

    Except for hospitals, research facilities, state licensed entities issued a special event permit under Section 9.52, or an entity authorized pursuant to Section 8.46.030, it is unlawful for any owner, operator, or association to own, conduct, operate, maintain, participate therein, or to cause or allow to be conducted, operated, or maintained, any dispensary, delivery or delivery only dispensary in or into the City unless there exists a valid business permit in compliance with the provisions of Chapter 5.02 and a permit issued under this Chapter. However, entities authorized under OMC Chapter 8.46 must abide by the same requirements imposed herein on dispensaries.

    B.

    This Chapter, and the requirement to obtain a business permit, do not apply to the individual possession or cultivation of cannabis for personal use, nor does this Chapter and such requirement apply to the usage, distribution, cultivation or processing of cannabis by qualified patients or primary caregivers when such group is of three (3) or fewer individuals, and distributing, cultivating or processing the cannabis from a residential unit or a parcel of land. Such associations shall not be required to obtain a permit under Chapter 5.80, but must comply with applicable State law.

    C.

    The City Administrator shall issue no more than eight (8) new valid permits for the operation of dispensaries in the City per calendar year, with a minimum of half of the dispensary permits issued each calendar year issued to Equity Applicants. Delivery only dispensaries shall not be subject to these limits. Dispensary permits shall be issued through an equity permit process done in collaboration with the department of race and equity. No individual or entity shall have a direct or indirect interest in more than two (2) dispensary permits.

    D.

    In addition to the requirements specified in Section 5.02.020 for business permits, the application for a dispensary permit shall set forth the following information:

    1.

    Unless the City Administrator in his/her discretion determines that the location will not impact the peace, order and welfare of the public evidence that the proposed location of such dispensary is not within six hundred (600) feet of a public or private school providing instruction in kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive (but not including any private school in which education is primarily conducted in private homes), another dispensary or youth center, unless the school or youth center moved into the area after the dispensary was issued a permit under this Chapter. The distance between facilities shall be measured via path of travel from the closest door of one (1) facility to the closest door of the other facility unless otherwise prescribed by state law. The proposed dispensary must be located in a commercial or industrial zone, or its equivalent as may be amended, of the City. The proposed delivery only dispensary must also be located in a Commercial or Industrial Zone, excluding the CN Neighborhood Center Commercial Zones and the D-BV Broadway Valdez District Commercial Zones, or their equivalent as may be amended, of the City. Delivery only dispensaries shall not occupy more than one thousand (1,000) square feet of ground floor storefront space in a building facing a Commercially zoned principal streets. The limitations on locations for delivery only dispensaries shall apply to those applicants who submit applications after the effective date of these amendments.

    2.

    A plan of operations that will describe how the dispensary or delivery only dispensary will operate consistent with State law and the provisions of this Chapter, including but not limited to:

    a.

    Controls to ensure cannabis will be dispensed only to adults over twenty-one (21) years of age, qualified patients or primary caregivers, and

    b.

    Controls to acquire, possess, transport and distribute cannabis to and from State licensed cannabis entities.

    3.

    A security plan, as a separate document, outlining the proposed security arrangements to deter and prevent unauthorized entrance into areas containing cannabis or cannabis products and theft of cannabis or cannabis products at the dispensary, in accordance with minimum security measures required by State law. The security plan shall be reviewed by the Police Department and the Office of the City Administrator and shall be exempt from disclosure as a public record pursuant to Government Code Section 6255(a).

    4.

    A community beautification plan to reduce illegal dumping, littering, graffiti and blight and promote beautification of the adjacent community within fifty (50) feet of the dispensary or delivery-only dispensary.

    5.

    If the applicant is an Equity Applicant, information documenting such status, as described in Section 5.80.045 and any applicable administrative guidelines.

    6.

    Such other information deemed necessary to conduct any investigation or background check of the applicant, and for the City Administrator to determine compliance with this Chapter, the City's Municipal Code and Zoning Code.

    a.

    Background checks shall only apply to Dispensary and Delivery-Only Dispensary Applicants and they shall be limited to determining whether in the last seven (7) years an Applicant has been convicted or plead nolo contender or guilty to a violent offense or crime of fraud or deceit as defined by the City Administrator's administrative guidelines.

    b.

    Applicants with recent relevant convictions may still petition the City Administrator for reconsideration if they can demonstrate evidence of rehabilitation, such as participation in rehabilitative services and payment of restitution.

    7.

    An applicant for a dispensary permit shall not be disqualified from receiving a permit under this Chapter on the ground that the applicant also operates or intends to operate in a cannabis-related field by providing additional, non-dispensary activities (such as cultivation).

    E.

    Applications for dispensaries shall be subject to a public hearing with public notice of the hearing in accordance with Section 5.02.050. While applications for delivery only dispensaries shall not be subject to a hearing requirement, such applications are subject to public notice and applicants must participate in a community meeting before the City Administrator issues a permit if the premises identified in the application are within three hundred (300) feet of a residential zone. This three-hundred-foot distance shall be determined via a straight line from the property line of the residential zone to the closest property line of the parcel on which the delivery only dispensary is to be located without regard to intervening structures. The City Administrator shall be the investigating official referred to in Section 5.02.030 to whom the application shall be referred. All general applicants shall pay an application fee, a permit fee, and all inspection and notification fees that may be required as part of the application process, as specified in the City's Master Fee Schedule. There shall be no application fee for equity applicants.

    F.

    All dispensary permits shall be special business permits and shall be issued for a term of one year. No property interest, vested right, or entitlement to receive a future license to operate a cannabis business shall ever inure to the benefit of such permit holder.

(Ord. No. 13504, § 3, 10-2-2018; Ord. 13464, § 3, 11-28-2017; Ord. No. 13424, § 3, 3-28-2017; Ord. No. 13370, § 3, 5-17-2016)