TITLE:
title
AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO ISSUE REFUNDS FOR RETAIL CANNABIS APPLICATION FEES
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DEPARTMENT: ECONOMIC AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT/PLANNING DIVISION
PRESENTED BY: JENNIFER LE, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
CONTACT INFORMATION: JENNIFER LE, (714) 754-5270
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Staff recommends City Council give the City Manager, or her designee, the authority to issue refunds for retail cannabis application fees.
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BACKGROUND:
On November 3, 2020, the voters of Costa Mesa approved Measure Q ("The City of Costa Mesa Retail Cannabis Tax and Regulation Measure") authorizing City Council to adopt ordinances to establish retail cannabis regulations, taxation, and zoning requirements.
At their regular meeting on June 1, 2021, City Council adopted a fee resolution to establish application processing fees and service charges related to cannabis business permit (CBP) and conditional use permit (CUP) applications.
The agenda report and attachments for the fee resolution item can be found at this link: http://ftp.costamesaca.gov/costamesaca/council/agenda/2021/2021-06-01/PH-3.pdf
On August 12, 2021, the City began accepting applications for retail cannabis businesses including storefronts and non-storefronts (delivery). To date, the City has received a total of 62 retail cannabis storefront applications and are in different stages of the cannabis permit review and approval process.
Of the 62 cannabis retail storefront applications, a total of 17 Conditional Use Permit (CUP) applications have gone before the Planning Commission for review and approval, with 14 of the 17, or 82 percent, being approved to operate. Of the remaining three applications presented to the Planning Commission, two were denied and have requested appeals before the City Council (one of the two City Council appeal hearings is scheduled on Tuesday, February 21, 2023), and one application was continued to the Planning Commission meeting of ...
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