The City Council will hold a public hearing on a Planning Commission decision to approve a Conditional Use Permit that would allow a cannabis operator to operate at 827 East Colorado Boulevard.
In November, the City Council adopted an ordinance amending Section 17.50.066 of the Zoning Code to allow for up to three cannabis retailers within each council district and reducing the distance required between cannabis retailers from 1,000 feet to 450 feet.
The amendment allowed the city to approve SweetFlower’s CUP application.
But according to the owners of cannabis dispensaries Integral and Harvest, the decision to allow more dispensaries was a “project” and is subject to CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) review.
According to a city staff report, the appellants cite a Supreme Court decision where the court found that the city of San Diego’s zoning code amendment constituted a ‘project’ and was subject to CEQA review.
But, according to a city staff report, the San Diego amendment allowed up to 36 cannabis dispensaries and therefore amended that city’s zoning regulations to permit the establishment of a sizable number of retail businesses of an entirely new type.
“The court found that establishment of these new types of businesses is capable of causing indirect physical changes in the environment thus warranting its consideration as a project.” according to the city’s staff report.
The Planning Commission unanimously approved the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) allowing Culver City-based SweetFlower to sell commercial cannabis products at a 1,414 square foot tenant space beside Subway restaurant, located within a non-historic commercial building at 827 East Colorado Boulevard.
SweetFlower will be the second commercial cannabis retailer permitted in Council District 3. The first was Harvest of Pasadena.
SweetFlower’s location is 471 feet away from another existing cannabis retailer, Essence, which is located at 908 East Colorado Boulevard.
SweetFlower will be the second commercial cannabis retailer permitted in Council District 3.
The first was Harvest, which is currently doing business in District 3.
In 2018, 63% of voters approved Measure CC, which originally allowed a maximum of six dispensaries, one per district, and required each shop to maintain a distance from other dispensaries as well as from churches, schools, libraries and parks.
A split City Council voted to amend the ordinance last year to allow up to three cannabis operators to do business in District 3, despite the protests of Councilman John Kennedy, who represents that district.
To Read The Rest Of This Article By Andre Coleman on Pasadena Now
Published: March 14, 2022
Founder & Interim Editor of L.A. Cannabis News
