Chico Municipal Code Ch. 5R.42 Commercial Cannabis Businesses

Section:

5R.42.010 Purpose.

This chapter is adopted pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 5.42 of the Chico Municipal Code which authorizes the establishment and regulation of commercial cannabis businesses within the City.

(Res. No. 45-20 §1 (part), Ord. 2589 §3)

5R.42.020 Application Review, Scoring and Selection Process.

A. The review of Commercial Cannabis Permits in the City of Chico shall take two forms:

(1) Competitive Permit: Review, scoring and selection of applications for those permits with limited number to be issued, which are submitted timely and complete, shall be comprised of four (4) phases:

Phase I: Determination of Eligibility (Application Submittal Requirements)

Phase II: Criteria Evaluation and Scoring

A. Application Review and Ranking

B. Interviews and Ranking

Phase III: City Manager Hearing

Phase IV: Final Selection by City Manager and Confirmation of Permit

(2) Non-Competitive Permit: Review, scoring and selection of applications for those permits without a limited number to be issued will be conducted in three (3) phases:

Phase I: Determination of Eligibility (Application Submittal Requirements)

Phase II: Criteria Evaluation and Recommendation

Phase III: Final Review by City Manager and Awarding of Permit

B. A complete description of the merit-based system and all merit-based considerations shall be included with the application forms.

C. The City Manager, or their designee, may promulgate additional rules or policies to establish supplemental or more detailed scoring categories, with respective scoring points, under any one or all of the criteria listed herein above, prior to the commencement of the City accepting any applications.

D. To the extent criminal background checks are not able to be completed during Phase I, they will be completed prior to the issuance of a permit.

E. The City Manager shall appoint staff or other designee to review all application documents required in the city’s Phase I and Phase II processes. Such staff or designee shall review each application package and the background check of all applicants and owners, and shall individually score each application in accordance with the scoring system established herein by the City Council.

F. The most qualified applicants who are eligible to operate a Retail Storefront cannabis business in the City during Phase II will be recommended to the City Manager for a final determination at a public administrative decision hearing at a date and time set by the City Manager. The number of applicants of competitive permits allowed to process for consideration of zoning clearance shall not exceed the number of available Retail Storefront cannabis business permits than available. However, the City reserves the right to award a lesser number of cannabis business permits than there are applicants, or to award no permits at all.

G. An applicant who is deemed most qualified during Phase II is not guaranteed any particular result in the application process, nor in any zoning review process.

H. Notice of the results of Phase II will be provided in writing to each applicant and they will be notified whether they will be moving forward in the application process.

I. The City Manager or their designee(s) shall process applications to ensure compliance with any or all of the phases of the application review process for competitive licenses and non- competitive licenses as set forth in this Chapter.

J. Notwithstanding anything in this Chapter to the contrary, the City reserves the right to reject any or all applications for competitive licenses, at any time during the application process if it determines it would be in the best interest of the City, taking into account the health, safety and welfare of the community.

(Res. No. 45-20 §1 (part), Ord. 2589 §3)

5R.42.030 Phase I (Competitive and Non-Competitive Permits): Determination of Eligibility.

A. Phase I: Determination of Eligibility (Application Submittal Requirements)

(1) During Phase I, each applicant interested in operating a commercial cannabis business will pay a deposit fee in an amount established by the City Council by resolution. The deposit will be the amount anticipated to cover the cost of developing and administering the application process. However, should the City determine that additional cost is necessary each Applicant shall be requested to pay an additional amount to cover the costs of administering the application process. Applications shall be complete to be considered, and applications will only be complete if they include all information required by this application, and are presented in the required form, and submitted before the deadline.

(2) Each owner will undergo a criminal background check, as determined by the City Manager or the Chico Police Department and the State of California, demonstrating compliance with the eligibility requirements, the AUMA, the MAUCRSA, state regulations, and other requirements contained in this Chapter. The background check may include a Live Scan review for both the state and federal clearance but not limited to this condition. In the event of delays, which may occur in processing the Live Scan, each owner may be subject to a provisional background check at which time they will be required to sign a background check authorization allowing the City to conduct a third-party background check.

(3) The initial period to accept competitive applications shall be forty-five (45) calendar days from the date the applications are released. Should the 45th day fall on a day when city hall is closed, the application period shall be extended to the next open day at 4:00 p.m. Following the application period, the City shall stop accepting applications and shall review all applications received. The City reserves the right to suspend/close/ modify the period of accepting non-competitive application based on number of applications received and availability of staff to process such applications. Staff shall provide at least 15 days’ notice of suspension of application period and reopening of such period for noncompetitive permits.

(4) The City Manager or their designee(s) will review applications to determine completeness, compliance with the minimum application submittal requirements, and to determine whether any application should be denied based on matters appearing on the face of the application.

(5) Failure to be responsive and/or provide substantive responses, or to provide applicable supporting documentation as required by the application, may disqualify the applicant from being eligible for Phase II of the application process. Applications shall be reviewed regarding grounds for revocation of permits under Chico Municipal Code Section 5.42.150. Applications found to have violations providing grounds for revocation shall not be forwarded to Phase II.

(Res. No. 45-20 §1 (part), Ord. 2589 §3)

5R.42.040 Phase II-A (Competitive Permits): Criteria Evaluation and Scoring.

A. During Phase II-A, the City Manager’s designee(s) will review and score each application using a merit-based system. The Applicants which score a minimum of 80% or higher (960 points) in Phase II-A will move on to Phase II-B. Notice of the results of Phase II-A will be provided in writing to the primary designated contact for each applicant.

B. During Phase II-B, the City Manager or designee(s) will review and score each application using a merit-based system of the following general criteria categories and possible point distribution of written materials provided and the applicant’s responses to interview questions:

C. Upon the completion of Phase II-B, the City Manager’s designee(s) will tabulate the aggregate scores of all applicants from Phase II-A and Phase II-B to create a final ranking in which they will make a final recommendation to the City Manager. The aggregate score for each applicant based upon the merit-based scoring shall be calculated and the applications shall be ranked from highest to lowest based on the score results.

(Res. No. 45-20 §1 (part), Ord. 2589 §3)

5R.42.050 Phase III (Competitive Permits): City Manager’s Hearing.

The City Manager shall receive the final scores and recommendation in a report format from the reviewing designee(s) indicating the ranking of applicants. The City Manager shall then conduct an administrative hearing for consideration regarding the most suitable and complete applications. Applicants progressing to Phase III will be invited to attend a hearing to answer questions from the City Manager or designees, and therefore should be prepared to attend the hearing for said purpose and make a presentation regarding the terms of their application and review criteria. Based on such responses provided, the City Manager shall then determine which applicants shall proceed to Phase IV.

(Res. No. 45-20 §1 (part), Ord. 2589 §3)

5R.42.055 Phase IV (Competitive Permits): Final Selection by City Manager.

A. Prior to the City Manager’s final selection of permittees, the City reserves the right to request and obtain additional information from any candidate who advanced to Phase IV.

B. The City Manager will review the totality of the record to confirm the tabulation of scores and decide which applicants have best demonstrated fulfilling the requirements of the requirements under the code for eligibility of a cannabis permit.

C. As part of the final selection process the top applicants or finalists should be prepared to attend a public hearing before the City Manager to address any additional questions before a final decision is rendered.

D. The City Manager reserves the right to amend, revise, and/or reject the scoring, ranking, or recommendations of the applications, and take such action on any application which the City Manager finds will further the best interests of the City among the applicants on the final eligibility list, consistent with the requirements for such uses under the Code.

E. At the conclusion of the hearing, the City Manager may select the highest qualified applicants to award a Commercial Cannabis Permit and allow the applicants to apply for a land use permit, in addition to all other permits that may be required, including but not limited to building, electrical, fire and planning permits. The City Manager’s selection will be memorialized in a written “Notice of Selection,” and shall specify a reasonable period of time which the applicant has to fulfill all requirements in order to be awarded a use permit where required. Compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act will also be required where necessary. Notice of the results of Phase III will be provided in writing to each applicant.

F. The City Manager’s decision as to the selection of the prevailing candidates shall be final. Unsuccessful applicants have the option to appeal pursuant to Section 5.42.160 of the Chico Municipal Code.

G. Selected applicants will be required to cover the City’s cost of preparing the Permit, and to pay all other applicable fees associated with the process not covered in the application review, scoring and selection process pursuant to fees established by Resolution, as authorized by this Chapter.

(Res. No. 45-20 §1 (part), Ord. 2589 §3)

5R.42.060 Phase II (Non-Competitive Permits): Criteria Evaluation and Recommendation.

A. The evaluation and related recommendations regarding the Non-Competitive applications shall be based on the following criteria:

B. Applicants achieving a total score of eighty percent (80%) or more (1,200 points) shall be recommended to advance to Phase III.

(Res. No. 45-20 §1 (part), Ord. 2589 §3)

5R.42.065 Phase III (Non-Competitive Permits): Final Review by City Manager and Awarding of Permit.

Upon the completion of Phase II, the City Manager will review the aggregate scoring and recommendations by the Review Committee of all the Non-Competitive applicants from Phase I and Phase II to create a final recommendation upon which the City Manager will base the awarding of permits. The actual issuance of the Commercial Cannabis Permit shall require the applicant to certify that all information in the application remains accurate and that the applicant agrees to abide by all laws, rules, ordinances, resolutions, and codes applicable to the business. The issuance of a permit shall allow the applicant to proceed to apply for both a land use permit and a business license and related approvals. Each applicant shall be notified of the results of such review.

(Res. No. 45-20 §1 (part), Ord. 2589 §3)

5R.42.070 Permit is Not a Land Use Approval or an Entitlement.

A. Issuance of a Commercial Cannabis Permit does not create a land use approval. Furthermore, no permit will be officially issued, and no applicant awarded a permit may begin operations, unless all of the state and local laws and regulations, including but not limited to the requirements of this Code and of the permit, have been complied with including award of a land use entitlement or use permit, if required. All Permittees must comply with State laws as they relate to commercial cannabis activity not being allowed without issuance of a state license.

B. Being issued a Notice of Selection does not constitute a land use entitlement and does not waive or remove the requirements associated with being awarded a Use Permit, and submitting all requisites thereof, submitting plans, making any required plan corrections, and obtaining City-approved plans, applying for and receiving technical permits for all construction and/or structural alterations, including building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits, undergoing and passing all building and fire intermittent and final inspections, and securing any other required permits, licenses, or reviews as may be necessary by the relevant departments or government agencies in charge of said permits. Nor does it guarantee that the plans submitted via the application process meet the standards or requirements in this Chapter or the Chico Zoning Ordinance, or any building or fire codes, laws, rules or regulations, or any other permit requirement from other local or state departments or agencies.

C. Applicants shall have no right to a Commercial Cannabis Permit until a permit is actually issued, and then only for the duration of the permit term. Each applicant assumes the risk that, at any time prior to the issuance of a permit, the City Council may terminate or delay the program created under this Chapter.

(Res. No. 45-20 §1 (part), Ord. 2589 §3, Ord. 2598 § 1)

5R.42.080 Denial and Reapplication.

If an application is denied at any phase, in the event that the City is receiving new applications, a new application may not be filed for one year from the date of the denial.

(Res. No. 45-20 §1 (part), Ord. 2589 §3)

5R.42.090 Permit Fee Required.

Prior to operating a commercial cannabis business, each person awarded a Commercial Cannabis Permit shall be required to pay a permit fee established by resolution of the City Council, to cover the costs of administering the Commercial Cannabis Permit program created in this Chapter.

(Res. No. 45-20 §1 (part), Ord. 2589 §3)

5R.42.100 Permit Application Procedure.

A. This section shall establish the initial application procedure, requiring applicants to meet and comply with minimum application requirements.

B. Notwithstanding the subsection hereinabove, the City Manager shall have the authority to adopt any procedure(s) to supplement the initial application process as set forth herein. Pursuant to this section, the City Manager, or their designee, will have the authority to adopt any procedures to govern the application process, and the manner in which the decision will ultimately be made regarding the issuance of any Commercial Cannabis Permit(s), including establishing objective review criteria (“Review Criteria”), if necessary in order to supplement any provision established herein in furtherance of CMC 5.42 or their adopted procedures. The City Manager, or their designee, is authorized to prepare the necessary applications, forms, adopt any necessary rules to the application, regulations and processes, solicit applications, and conduct initial evaluations of the applicants.

C. Notwithstanding the sections hereinabove, the following minimum, and complete information shall be included in each and every application for a City of Chico Commercial Cannabis Permit:

(1) Name of Applicant: For applicants who are individuals, the applicant’s full legal name (first, middle, last). For applicants that are business entities, the applicant’s legal business name.

(2) Business Trade Name (if applicable): The business trade name (“DBA”) of the applicant.

(3) Identification of Primary Owner: The full name (first, middle, last), primary phone number, social security number, or date and place of birth, email address, and mailing address for the primary owner submitting the Application.

(4) For each person that is an “owner” of the applicant, as defined in this Chapter, including the “primary owner” referenced above, the following information:

• 1. Owner’s full legal name;
• 2. Owner’s title within the applicant entity;
• 3. Owner’s date and place of birth;
• 4. Owner’s social security number or individual taxpayer identification number;
• 5. Owner’s mailing address;
• 6. Owner’s telephone number;
• 7. Owner’s email address;
• 8. Percentage of interest held in the applicant entity by the owner;

9. Whether the owner has an ownership or financial interest, as defined in Title 16, Division 42, Section 5003 of the Bureau of Cannabis Control Regulations, in any other commercial cannabis business licensed under the AUMA or the MAUCRSA;

10. A copy of the owner’s government-issued identification, acceptable forms are a document issued by a federal, state, county, or municipal government that includes the name, date of birth, physical description, and picture of the owner, such as a driver’s license;

11. A detailed description of the owner’s criminal convictions, if applicable. A conviction for this purpose means a plea or guilty verdict of guilty or a conviction following a plea of nolo contendere. Convictions dismissed under Penal Code section 1203.4 or equivalent non-California law must be disclosed. Convictions dismissed under Health & Safety Code section 11361.8 or equivalent non-California law must be disclosed. Juvenile Adjudications and traffic infractions under $300 that did not involve alcohol, dangerous drugs, or controlled substances do not need to be included. For each conviction, provide: (a) the date of conviction; (b) dates of incarceration, if applicable; (c) dates of probation, if applicable; (d) dates of parole, if applicable; (e) a detailed description of the offense for which the owner was convicted; and (f) a statement of rehabilitation for each conviction written by the owner that demonstrates the owner’s fitness for consideration;

12. If applicable, a detailed description of the suspension of a commercial cannabis license, revocation of a commercial cannabis license, or sanctions for unlicensed commercial cannabis activity by a licensing authority or local agency against the applicant or a business entity in which the applicant was an owner or officer within the three (3) years immediately preceding the date of the application;

13. If applicable, a detailed description if the City issued the applicant a notice or citation for unlicensed commercial cannabis activity, or if the applicant was a defendant in a civil or criminal proceeding filed by the City or the People of the State of California, for allowing, causing, or permitting unlicensed commercial cannabis activities within the City’s jurisdiction;

14. An attestation of each owner as follows: “Under penalty of perjury, I hereby declare that the information contained within and submitted with the application is complete, true, and accurate. I understand that a misrepresentation of fact or omission may be cause for rejection or denial of this application, or revocation of any Commercial Cannabis Permit or Conditional Use Permit, or non-approval of a Development Agreement, or any permit, license or approval issued in reliance thereon.”

(5) Primary Contact: The contact information for the applicant’s designated primary contact person, including the name, title, phone number, and email address of said individual.

(6) Nature of Operations: Identification of whether the applicant seeks to operate a cannabis manufacturing site, testing laboratory, distribution site, or retailer; the specific State license category under which the applicant will seek to operate; and the number of employees anticipated.

(7) Business Plan:

a. Owner qualifications. Resumes/Curriculum Vitae are not to exceed one (1) page per owner.

b. A budget for construction, operation, and maintenance, compensation of employees, equipment costs, utility cost, and other operation costs.

c. Proof of capitalization from a verifiable source.

d. Pro Forma plan for at least three years of operation.

e. Fully describe hours of operation and opening and closing procedures.

f. Fully describe the day-to-day operations for each license type being sought.

g. Fully describe cash handling procedures.

h. Fully describe inventory control procedures to include, identification point-of-sales and track and trace software.

i. Business formation and all related documents filed with the California Secretary of State.

(8) Labor and Local Enterprise Plan:

a. Describe whether the Commercial Cannabis Business is committed to offering employees a Living Wage. (“Living Wage” shall mean 125% of the minimum wage mandated by California law.)

b. Describe compensation to and opportunities for continuing education and employee training.

c. Describe the extent to which the Commercial Cannabis Business will be a locally managed enterprise whose owners and /or managers reside within the City of Chico or Butte County.

d. Describe the number of employees, title/position and their respective responsibilities.

e. Thoroughly describe employee policies and procedures (complete manuals are not required to be submitted).

f. If the Commercial Cannabis Business has twenty (20) or more non- supervisory employees, the applicant must attest that they are committed to or have entered into a labor peace agreement and will abide by its terms.

(9) Neighborhood Compatibility Plan:

A. Describe how the Commercial Cannabis Business will proactively address and respond to complaints related to noise, light, odor, vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

B. Describe how the Commercial Cannabis Business will be managed so as to avoid becoming a nuisance or having impacts on its neighbors and the surrounding community.

C. Describe odor mitigation practices.

1. Identify potential sources of odor.

2. Describe odor control devices and techniques employed to ensure that odors from cannabis are not detectable beyond the licensed premises.

3. Describe all proposed staff training, and system maintenance plans.

4. Describe the waste management plan. The plan shall include waste disposal locations, security measures, and methods of rendering all waste unusable and unrecognizable.

(10) Safety Plan:

A thorough Safety Plan should consider all possible fire, medical and hazardous situations. (Complete policy/procedures manuals are not required at this point of the application process. Please only provide a detailed description for each criteria).

a. The Safety Plan shall be prepared by a professional fire prevention and suppression consultant.

b. Identify all gases and/or chemicals to be used and their storage locations

c. Identify fire alarm and monitoring system including the name and contact information for the alarm company.

d. Describe accident and incident reporting procedures.

e. Describe evacuation routes.

f. Location of fire extinguishers and other fire suppression equipment.

g. Describe procedures and training for all fire and medical emergencies.

h. Describe and identify the location of all gas monitoring equipment.

(11) Security Plan:

A thorough Security Plan should consider all access control, inventory control, cash handling procedures. (Complete policy/procedures manuals are not required at this point of the application process. Please only provide a detailed description for each criteria.)

A. The Security Plan shall be prepared by a professional security consultant. Security Plans will be treated as confidential and will not be made public. Applicant is responsible for identifying all pages in a security plan that are confidential.

B. Premises (Security) Diagram. In addition to diagrams submitted for other sections of the application, applicants are expected to submit a premises diagram which focuses on the proposed security measures and how they relate to the overall business. (Pursuant to BCC §5006).

(1) The diagram shall be accurate, dimensioned and to scale (minimum scale ¼") the scale may be smaller if the proposed location exceeds more than a ½ -acre parcel but must not be printed on larger than an 11" x 17" sheet of paper. (Blueprints and engineering site plans are not required at this point of the application process.)

(2) The diagram must be drawn to scale and clearly identify property boundaries, entrances, exits, interior partitions, walls, rooms, windows and doorways. The activity in each room and the location of all cameras must be identified on the diagram.

(3) Description of cannabis activity that will be conducted in each area of the premises. Commercial cannabis activities that must be identified on the diagram may include but are not limited to the following if applicable to the business operations; storage, batch sampling, loading/unloading of shipments, packaging and labeling, customer sales, extractions, infusions, processing and testing.

(4) Limited-access areas, defined as areas in which cannabis goods are stored or held and only accessible to a licensee, its employee or contractors. Areas used for video surveillance monitoring and storage devices (Pursuant to BCC §5000 (m) and §5042.)

(5) Number and location of all video surveillance cameras.

C. Identify intrusion alarm and monitoring system including the name and contact information for the monitoring company.

D. Discuss whether the Commercial Cannabis Business will utilize the services of on-site security guards. Include in the discussion:

(1) Number of guards.

(2) Hours guards will be on-site.

(3) Locations at which they will be positioned.

(4) Their roles and responsibilities.

(12) Community Benefits and Investments Plan: The application should describe all benefits the Commercial Cannabis Business will provide to the local community. Benefits may be in the form of volunteer services, monetary donations to local nonprofit organizations, financial support of City sponsored activities or organizations, in-kind donations to the City or other charitable organizations and/or any other economic incentives to the City, investment in prevention and youth diversion programs.

(13) Payment of Applicant Fee: Each applicant shall pay the applicable fee(s) pursuant to this Chapter established by resolution of the City Council.

(14) Indemnification Agreement: To the fullest extent permitted by local, state and/or federal law, the City of Chico shall not assume any liability whatsoever with respect to having issued a Commercial Cannabis Permit or other entitlements, or otherwise approving the operation of any commercial cannabis business. As a condition to the approval of any Commercial Cannabis Permit and to the execution and approval of other entitlements, the Owner is to execute a separate Indemnification Agreement prepared by the City that fully indemnifies the City for all liabilities associated with the Commercial Cannabis Permit, the Commercial Cannabis Permittee’s Commercial Cannabis Activities, and any action taken by the Cannabis Permittee. The Indemnification Agreement shall include the defense of the City and reimbursement of all fees, costs and expenses incurred by the City related to any action arising from the Agreement.

(15) Any person seeking to obtain a Commercial Cannabis Permit shall submit a written application to the City, dated and signed under penalty of perjury, using the application form adopted by the City for that purpose. The application shall be accompanied by a deposit which is an estimated initial cost fee established by resolution of the City Council, to defray the costs incurred by the City in the application process set forth in this Chapter. Applicants are advised that they may be required to pay additional amounts as required for the sole purpose of the City’s completion of the application review process. Initial application fees are non- refundable; however, any remaining balance not used from the fee resulting in the Applicant not participating in subsequent phases of the process will be returned to the Applicant.

(16) As part of the application process, the applicant shall be required to obtain all required land use approvals, including other entitlements, if and when applicable, from the City, including a certification from the Community Development Department Director, or their designee, certifying that the proposed site meets all of the requirements of the Chico Zoning Ordinance.

(17) As a condition precedent to the City’s issuance of a Commercial Cannabis Permit pursuant to this Chapter, any person intending to open and to operate a commercial cannabis business shall provide sufficient evidence of the legal right to occupy and to use the proposed location. In the event the proposed location will be leased from another person, the applicant shall be required to provide a signed and notarized statement from the owner of the property, acknowledging that the property owner has read this Chapter and CMC 5.42 and consents to the potential operation of the commercial cannabis business on the owner’s property.

(18) Background Check. Pursuant to California Penal Code Sections 11105(b)(11) and 13300(b)(11), 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 applicant and responsible person of the commercial cannabis business must submit fingerprints and other information deemed necessary by the Chico Police Department, or the City’s law enforcement agency, for a background check. No person shall be issued a permit to operate a commercial cannabis business unless they have first cleared the background check, as determined by the City of Chico or the Chico Police Department as required by this section. A fee for the cost of the background investigation, which shall be the actual cost to the City of Chico to conduct the background investigation, as it deems necessary and appropriate, shall be paid at the time the application for a Commercial Cannabis Permit is submitted.

(19) The Chief of Police may, at his/her discretion, require applicants to utilize a third-party provider for purposes of conducting the criminal background check. The Third-party background check may serve in place of, or in addition to, the criminal background check performed by the Chico Police Department, as described in Section 5.42.105(A) of the Chico Municipal Code.

(Res. No. 45-20 §1 (part), Ord. 2589 §3)

5R.42.130 Renewal Applications.

A. An application for renewal of a Commercial Cannabis Permit and renewal fee shall be filed with the City Manager’s office at least 30 days prior but no more than 60 days prior to the expiration date of an active and current permit.

B. Any permittee submitting a renewal application less than thirty (30) calendar days before permit expiration shall be required to pay a late renewal application fee, as established by Resolution of the City Council. Such submission may result in delayed issuance of renewed permit and shall suspend an active license pending application review. The City shall not be responsible for any notice of permit expiration, pending expiration, or late fee period.

C. The renewal application may be reviewed and evaluated using the same criteria as relied upon under the initial application process, to ensure on-going compliance with the initial screening criteria.

D. The applicant shall pay a fee in an amount to be set by resolution by the City Council to cover the costs of processing the renewal permit application, together with any costs incurred by the City to administer the program created under this Chapter.

E. An application for renewal of a Commercial Cannabis Permit may be denied if any of the following exists:

1. Any of the grounds for denial or rejection of an application, or revocation of a permit, as authorized under this Chapter.

2. The Commercial Cannabis Permit or Conditional Use Permit is suspended or revoked at the time of the application submittal.

3. More than three (3) violations of a provision of an entitlement, which required the City to issue more than three (3) notices to cure, or the equivalent of a notice to cure as outlined in the executed entitlement, within the preceding term of the permit.

4. The commercial cannabis business has not been in regular and continuous operation in the four (4) months prior to the renewal application.

5. The permittee fails to renew or is unable to renew its State of California license.

6. If the permittee has made a false, misleading or fraudulent statement or omission of fact in the renewal application.

F. The City Manager is authorized to make all decisions concerning the issuance of a renewal permit. In making the decision, the City Manager is authorized to impose additional conditions to a renewal permit, if it is determined to be necessary to ensure compliance with state or local laws and regulations or to preserve the public health, safety or welfare. Appeals from the decision of the City Manager shall be handled pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter.

G. If a renewal application is denied, a person may file a new application pursuant to this Chapter no sooner than one year from the date of the rejection, only if the City will be receiving new applications.

H. Expiration or expiration pending due to late renewal shall immediately suspend the ability of a commercial cannabis business to operate within the City, unless and until a new license is issued or the existing license is renewed. A renewal application submitted within the applicable timely period in CMC 5R.42.130. A pending review by City at time of expiration of current application shall serve as a temporary license pending review of renewal application.

(Res. No. 45-20 §1 (part), Ord. 2589 §3)