Salinas Municipal Code Div. 4 Commercial Cannabis Activity—General Provisions

(a) In addition to those other requirements which may be imposed pursuant to this article, no person shall engage in commercial cannabis activity or open or operate a commercial cannabis business without possessing both a cannabis permit issued by the City of Salinas and either a license from the State of California for the specific commercial cannabis activity being conducted or, if the State of California has not yet begun issuing licenses, documentation sufficient to satisfactorily demonstrate to the City of Salinas that a license issued by the State of California or one of its departments or divisions relative to the specific commercial cannabis activity should be obtainable within one year of implementation.

(b) Prior to commencing operation, a commercial cannabis business shall obtain a City of Salinas business license, all required land use approvals, and any other necessary approvals, permits, or licenses from the City of Salinas or outside agencies, including the State of California.

(c) Prior to commencing operation, a commercial cannabis business shall be subject to a mandatory building inspection and must obtain all required permits or approvals which would otherwise be required including, but not limited to, a building permit(s), Salinas Fire Department permit(s), and planning-level permit(s) required by Chapter 37 of the Salinas Municipal Code.

(d) Revocation, termination, or suspension of a license issued by the State of California, or any of its departments or divisions, shall immediately terminate the ability of a commercial cannabis business to operate within the City of Salinas until the State of California, or its respective department or division, reinstates or reissues the state license.

(Ord. No. 2600 (NCS), § 1, 11-29-2017)

(a) On no less than an annual basis (at or before the time of the renewal of a commercial cannabis permit issued pursuant to this article) or at any time upon reasonable request of the City of Salinas, all commercial cannabis businesses possessing a commercial cannabis permit for either a dispensary and/or delivery business shall file a sworn statement with the city manager or his/her designee indicating the number of patients, collectives, and primary caregivers served by the commercial cannabis business within the previous twelve-month period (or shorter period based upon the timing of the request).

(b) Each owner and/or operator of a commercial cannabis business shall maintain a current register of the names and the contact information (including the name, address, and telephone number) of all employees currently employed by the commercial cannabis business and shall disclose such register to the Salinas City Manager or his/her designee upon request.

(c) Each commercial cannabis business shall maintain a record of all patients, collectives, and primary caregivers served by the commercial cannabis business in accordance with California laws and regulations.

(d) Subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) regulations, each commercial cannabis business shall allow City of Salinas officials to have access to the commercial cannabis business's books, records, accounts, and any and all data relevant to its permitted activities for the purpose of conducting an audit or examination. Books, records, accounts, and any and all relevant data will be produced no later than twenty-four hours after receipt of the city's request.

(e) Each commercial cannabis business shall have in place a point-of-sale tracking system to track and to report on all aspects of the commercial cannabis business including, but not limited to, such matters as cannabis tracking, inventory data, and gross sales (by weight and by sale) and shall ensure that such information is compatible with the city's record-keeping systems. The system must have the capability to produce historical transactional data for review by the City of Salinas. All information provided to the city pursuant to this subsection shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed, except as may otherwise be required under the law.

(f) All records required by this article shall be maintained by the commercial cannabis business for a period of not less than seven years and shall otherwise keep accurate records of all commercial cannabis business activity. Such records shall be made available for inspection consistent with California Business and Professions Code Section 26160 and any additional rules promulgated by the licensing authority pursuant to that section or the city council by resolution or ordinance.

(Ord. No. 2600 (NCS), § 1, 11-29-2017)

All cannabis waste shall be properly disposed of in accordance with California laws and regulations. All commercial cannabis businesses shall comply with the following:

(a) The business may not sell or give away cannabis waste, except to a waste disposal service provider.

(b) Cannabis shall not be disposed of or removed from the premises of any business until it has first been rendered unrecognizable and unusable by a third party, unless it has been accepted by a waste disposal service provider.

(c) All businesses shall comply with all applicable waste management laws including, but not limited to, Division 30 of the Public Resources Code.

(d) Each business shall dispose of cannabis waste in a secured waste receptacle or in a secured area on the licensed premises. For the purposes of this section, "secure waste receptacle" or "secured area" means that physical access to the receptacle or area is restricted to the licensee and its employees. Public access to the designated receptacle or area is prohibited.

(e) The following shall apply to each business:

(1) If the City of Salinas has a franchise agreement with a third party entity for the disposal of solid waste within the City of Salinas, and that entity has the desire and necessary authorization(s) to handle that waste, the business shall obtain service for the disposal of cannabis and cannabis waste if offered by that entity.

(2) If the City of Salinas does not have a franchise agreement with any party for the disposal of solid waste, or if said party either does not wish or is not able to dispose of cannabis waste, then the business shall dispose of all cannabis waste in accordance with this article and state law. The business may demonstrate this by either contracting with a person licensed by the State of California to provide said service, or by demonstrating how the business will obtain the necessary state licenses and approvals to dispose of its own waste. This section shall not be construed to eliminate the requirement for service to dispose of solid waste other than cannabis waste from any entity which has a franchise agreement with the city to provide solid waste disposal service within the City of Salinas.

(f) If a business is composting cannabis waste on the licensed premises, it shall do so in compliance with Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Chapter 3.1 (commencing with Section 17850). The business shall maintain documentation that composted cannabis has been rendered unrecognizable and unusable by a third-party, and shall obtain any other required permits. The business shall allow the city to inspect this documentation upon request.

(g) Each business shall maintain records regarding its disposal of cannabis waste. These records shall comply with state requirements, and shall also be made available to the City of Salinas upon request. These records shall include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:

(1) Waste disposal service provider information, including the name, business address, phone number, contact person, and state license number(s);

(2) Documentation from the waste disposal service provider that indicates the weight, volume, date, and time of each collection of cannabis waste at the premises; and

(3) Copies of the certified weight ticket or other documentation prepared by the waste disposal service provider confirming receipt of the cannabis waste at one, or more, of the following solid waste facilities:

(A) A manned, fully permitted solid waste landfill or transformation facility;

(B) A manned, fully permitted composting facility or manned composting operation;

(C) A manned, fully permitted in-vessel digestion facility or manned in-vessel digestion operation;

(D) A manned, fully permitted transfer/processing facility or manned transfer/processing operation; or

(E) A manned, fully permitted chip and grind operation.

(h) If a business is self-hauling cannabis waste to one, or more, of the solid waste facilities in subsection (g)(3) of this section, the following shall apply:

(1) The business shall maintain third-party confirmation that the cannabis has been rendered unrecognizable and unusable prior to disposal.

(2) The business shall obtain for each delivery of cannabis waste a copy of a certified weight ticket or receipt documenting delivery from the solid waste facility. The solid waste facility shall indicate upon the ticket its knowledge that the waste disposed of includes cannabis waste.

(3) The solid waste authority must have obtained all approvals necessary to receive cannabis waste, and shall provide documentation to the business to that effect. The business shall maintain this documentation and shall make it available for inspection by the city upon request.

(4) Only business principals or employees may transport self-hauled cannabis waste.

(Ord. No. 2603 (NCS), § 4, 5-1-2018)

(a) The chief of police and any other City of Salinas official charged with enforcing the provisions of the Salinas Municipal Code, or any provision thereof, may enter the location of a commercial cannabis business at any time during the hours of operation without notice and inspect the location of any commercial cannabis business as well as the recordings and records maintained pursuant to this article or the applicable provisions of state law.

(b) It is unlawful for any person having any responsibility over the operation of a commercial cannabis business to refuse to allow, impede, obstruct, or interfere with an inspection, or the review of the copying of records and monitoring (including recordings) including, but not limited to, the concealment, destruction, and falsification of any recordings or records.

(c) The chief of police, his/her designee, or any other person charged with enforcing the provisions of this article may enter the location of a commercial cannabis business at any time during the hours of operation and without notice to obtain samples of the cannabis to test for law enforcement and/or public safety purposes. Any samples obtained by the City of Salinas shall be logged, recorded, and maintained in accordance with Salinas Police Department standards for evidence. At all other times, the chief of police or his designee may enter the location of a commercial cannabis business to obtain samples of cannabis upon reasonable notice. Testing shall be done by a facility licensed by the State to conduct such testing. The chief of police shall not take more cannabis than is reasonably necessary to conduct the appropriate testing, and all test results shall be provided to the business.

(Ord. No. 2600 (NCS), § 1, 11-29-2017)

It shall be unlawful and a violation of this article for any person to employ any other person at a commercial cannabis business who is not at least twenty-one years of age, except that a business that engages only in the medicinal market may employ persons at least eighteen years of age.

(Ord. No. 2600 (NCS), § 1, 11-29-2017)

No person shall cause or permit the sale, dispensing, or consumption of alcoholic beverages on or about the premises of the commercial cannabis business. No commercial cannabis business may operate at the same premises as an alcohol-related use as that term is defined in Chapter 37 of the Salinas Municipal Code.

(Ord. No. 2600 (NCS), § 1, 11-29-2017)

(a) No person shall operate a commercial cannabis business under a permit issued pursuant to this article at any place or location other than that identified on the permit.

(b) Any change to the business principals shall be subject to the requirements of Section 5-07.09(b).

(c) Any attempt to transfer or any transfer of a commercial cannabis permit issued pursuant to this article without the prior consent of the City of Salinas is hereby declared void and the commercial cannabis permit deemed immediately revoked and no longer of any force or effect.

(Ord. No. 2600 (NCS), § 1, 11-29-2017)