§ 128.18 GENERAL OPERATING REQUIREMENTS.

(A) Cannabis retailers may operate only during the hours specified in the retail cannabis business permit issued by the city and must comply with state law at all times.

(B) Cannabis shall not be consumed on the premises of any cannabis retailer.

(C) No cannabis or cannabis products or graphics depicting cannabis or cannabis products shall be visible from the exterior of any property issued a retail cannabis business permit or on any of the vehicles owned or used as part of the cannabis retailer. No outdoor storage of cannabis or cannabis products is permitted at any time.

(D) Each cannabis retailer shall have in place a point-of-sale or management inventory tracking system to track and report on all aspects of the cannabis retailer including, but not limited to, such matters as cannabis tracking, inventory data, gross sales (by weight and by sale), and other information which may be deemed necessary by the city. The cannabis retailer shall ensure that such information is compatible with the city’s record-keeping systems. In addition, the system must have the capability to produce historical transactional data for review. Furthermore, any system selected must be approved and authorized by the Chief Executive Officer prior to being used by a permittee.

(E) All cannabis and cannabis products sold and/or distributed shall be cultivated, manufactured, and distributed by licensed facilities that maintain operations in full conformance with the state and local regulations. The packaging and labeling of cannabis and cannabis products shall comply at all times with state law.

(F) There shall not be a physician located in any cannabis retailer at any time for the purpose of evaluating patients for the issuance of a medicinal cannabis recommendation.

(G) Each cannabis retailer shall provide the Chief Executive Officer with the name, telephone number (both land line and mobile, if available) of an on-site employee or owner to whom emergency notice can be provided at any hour of the day.

• (H) Signage and notices.

(1) In addition to the requirements otherwise set forth in this section, business identification signage for a cannabis retailer shall conform to the requirements of the City Municipal Code, including, but not limited to, seeking the issuance of a city sign permit.

(2) No signs placed on the premises of a cannabis retailer shall obstruct any entrance or exit to the building or any window.

(3) Each entrance to a cannabis retailer shall be visibly posted with a clear and legible notice indicating that smoking, ingesting, or otherwise consuming cannabis on the premises, or in the areas adjacent to the premises, is prohibited.

(4) The entrance to the cannabis retailer shall be clearly and legibly posted with a notice that no person under the age of 21 years of age is permitted to enter upon the premises of the cannabis retailer, other than as lawful customers permitted under state law.

(I) Other than as lawful customers permitted under state law in the case of retailers, individuals under the age of 21 years shall not be allowed on the premises of a cannabis retailer and shall not be allowed to serve as a driver for a cannabis retailer. It shall be unlawful and a violation of this chapter for any person to employ any person at a cannabis retailer who is not at least 21 years of age.

(J) Odor control devices and techniques shall be incorporated in all cannabis retailers to ensure that odors from cannabis are not detectable off-site. Cannabis retailers shall provide a sufficient odor absorbing ventilation and exhaust system so that odor generated inside the cannabis retailer that is distinctive to its operation is not detected outside of the facility, anywhere on adjacent property or public rights-of-way, on or about the exterior or interior common area walkways, hallways, breezeways, foyers, lobby areas, or any other areas available for use by common tenants or the visiting public, or within any other unit located inside the same building as the cannabis retailer.

(K) The original copy of the retail cannabis business permit issued by the city pursuant to this chapter and the city issued business license shall be posted inside the cannabis retailer in a location readily visible to the public.

(L) Pursuant to §§ 11105(b)(11) and 13300(b)(11) of the State Penal Code, which authorizes city authorities to access state and local summary criminal history information for employment, licensing, or certification purposes; and authorizes access to federal level criminal history information by transmitting fingerprint images and related information to the Department of Justice to be transmitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, every person listed as an owner, manager, supervisor, employee, or volunteer of the cannabis retailer must submit fingerprints and other information deemed necessary by the Chief Executive Officer for a background check. Pursuant to §§ 11105(b)(11) and 13300(b)(11) of the State Penal Code, which requires that there be a requirement or exclusion from employment, licensing, or certification based on specific criminal conduct on the part of the subject of the record, no person shall be issued a retail cannabis business permit unless they have first cleared the background check, as determined by the Chief Executive Officer, as required by this chapter. A fee for the cost of the background investigation, which shall be the actual cost to the city to conduct the background investigation as it deems necessary and appropriate, shall be paid at the time the application for a retail cannabis business permit is submitted. No owner, manager, supervisor, employee, or volunteer of the cannabis retailer shall:

(1) Have been convicted of (or pled no contest to) “an offense that is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the business or profession for which the application is made” as that term is defined in § 26057(b)(4) of the State Business & Professions Code; or

(2) Have been sanctioned by a licensing authority or a city, county, or state for unlicensed commercial cannabis activities or has had a license suspended or revoked under MAUCRSA in the three years immediately preceding the date the application was submitted.

(M) The cannabis retailer shall prohibit loitering by persons outside the facility both on the premises and within 50 feet of the premises.

(N) Within 60 days of licensure, for a permittee with two or more employees, the permittee shall attest to the city that the permittee has entered into a labor peace agreement and will abide by the terms of the agreement. The permittee shall submit a copy of the page of the labor peace agreement that contains the signatures of the labor representative and the applicant. For permittees with less than two employees who have not yet entered into a labor peace agreement, the permittee shall provide a notarized statement indicating that the applicant will enter into and

abide by the terms of a labor peace agreement within 30 days after employing two employees. If an attestation that the permittee is party to a labor peace agreement, and a copy of the page of the labor peace agreement that contains the signatures of the labor representative was submitted to the city by the permittee as part of the application process, that will meet this obligation.

(O) Cannabis retailers shall implement a workforce plan that includes at least the following provisions:

(1) Commitment for 30% of employees to be local hires; this local hiring requirement is satisfied when a cannabis retailer shows that it has either hired or made a good faith effort to hire bona fide residents of the city or persons that may establish residency after initial employment with the permittee;

(2) Commitment to offer apprenticeships and/or compensation for continuing education in the field of cannabis retail sales; and

(3) Entering into a collective bargaining agreement and/or paying a living wage to employees. LIVING WAGE means 50% more than the applicable amount of the hourly minimum wage mandated by state law (convertible to an annual salary by multiplying that hourly minimum wage by 2,080, as applicable), whichever is greater.

(P) It shall be unlawful for a cannabis retailer to discriminate in any manner or take adverse action against any employee in retaliation for exercising rights protected under this chapter or city or state law. These rights include, but are not limited to (1) the right to file a complaint or inform any person about any party’s alleged noncompliance with this chapter or city or state law and (2) the right to inform any person of his or her potential rights under this chapter or city or state law and to assist him or her in asserting such rights. Protections under this chapter or city or state law shall apply to any employee who mistakenly, but in good faith, alleges noncompliance with this chapter or city or state law. Taking adverse action against an employee within 90 days of the employee’s exercise of rights protected under this chapter or city or state law shall raise a rebuttable presumption of having done so in retaliation for the exercise of such rights.

(Ord. 1501, passed 4-5-23)