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Home My WebLink About10/18/2022 Item 7b, Souza Delgado, Adriana Megan Souza <megan@megansorganicmarket.com> Sent:Friday, September To:E-mail Council Website Cc:Quinn Brady; Fuchs, Alex; Codron, Michael; Leveille, Brian Subject:Stakeholder Input on Proposed Cannabis Ordinance Amendments Attachments:Stakeholder Input on Proposed Cannabis Ordinance Amendments.pdf This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond. Dear Mayor and City Council, Please see attached response to Staff's proposed changes to the City Cannabis Ordinance which will be up for review on September 20th. We are excited to see the City cannabis program continue to evolve and we hope you will consider our recommendations. -- Megan Souza Pronouns She/Hers Chief Executive Officer p • 805.709.0662 e • Megan@MegansOrganicMarket.com w • MegansOrganicMarket.com To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Home 1 September 9th, 2022 San Luis Obispo City Council 990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Dear Mayor and Councilmembers, Thank you for your work in supporting a prosperous city for the businesses and residents of our community. We are proud to be a part of the San Luis Obispo community, and pioneers in the local cannabis industry. We have appreciated City Staff's partnership and extraordinary diligence in bringing the cannabis program to life, and we appreciate your openness to hearing our input on proposed changes to the City¶s cannabis ordinance, which have the potential to affect our business operations. The past few years have been a learning experience for all involved and we are excited to see the City cannabis program continue to evolve. Accordingly, we have evaluated the proposed changes and have two recommendations for modifications which we believe serve the City¶s objectives, while also supporting cannabis businesses to evolve and grow. 1. LaQgXage MRdificaWiRQ fRU 9.10.120 E.: ReTXiUe SRcial ETXiW\ OZQeUV WR PaiQWaiQ aW leaVW 2% eTXiW\. Our first recommendation is a modification to the City¶s Proposed Language for 9.10.120 E: Prohibition Against Social Equity Owner Reductions. Staff¶s proposed language regarding restricting reductions in Social Equity Ownership percentage from the amount stated in the original application may prove to be impractical and will hinder ordinary and necessary business operations. For example, if a company were to go public or raise funds to support business growth, dilution of all existing owners may be required. Less restrictive language would allow businesses to flourish, which would in turn further elevate Social Equity Owners, which is the intention of the social equity provisions. We propose changing the language concerning percentage ownership reduction to instead require Operators to maintain the minimum threshold of Social Equity Ownership that aligns with the definition of a Social Equity Owner, which is 2% or higher. City¶s Proposed Language for 9.10.120 E: E. PURKLbLWLRQ aJaLQVW SRcLaO ETXLW\ OZQeU UedXcWLRQV. NRWZLWKVWaQdLQJ aQ\ RWKeU SURYLVLRQ Rf WKLV VXbVecWLRQ, aQ\ WUaQVfeU Rf RZQeUVKLS WKaW ZLOO UeVXOW LQ WKe UedXcWLRQ RU eOLPLQaWLRQ Rf WKe WRWaO QXPbeU Rf VRcLaO eTXLW\ RZQeUV RU SeUceQWaJe LQWeUeVW Rf VRcLaO eTXLW\ RZQeUVKLS LQ a cRPPeUcLaO caQQabLV bXVLQeVV fURP WKe QXPbeU RU RZQeUVKLS SeUceQWaJe SURSRVed LQ WKe RULJLQaO cRPPeUcLaO caQQabLV RSeUaWRU SeUPLW aSSOLcaWLRQV SURKLbLWed. TKLV SURKLbLWLRQ VKaOO LQcOXde WKe LQWeUQaO WUaQVfeU Rf RZQeUVKLS fURP RQe cXUUeQWO\ SeUPLWWed RSeUaWRU WR aQRWKeU, aQd WUaQVfeUV Rf SRcLaO ETXLW\ OZQeU LQWeUeVWV Rf aQ\ NLQd UeTXLUe bRWK SULRU QRWLce aQd aSSURYaO Rf WKe CLW\ WR YeULf\ cRPSOLaQce ZLWK WKLV VecWLRQ. MOM¶s Proposed Change to 9.10.120 E City Proposal in bold: E. PURKLbLWLRQ aJaLQVW SRcLaO ETXLW\ OZQeU UedXcWLRQV. NRWZLWKVWaQdLQJ aQ\ RWKeU SURYLVLRQ Rf WKLV VXbVecWLRQ, aQ\ WUaQVfeU Rf RZQeUVKLS WKaW ZLOO UeVXOW LQ WKe UedXcWLRQ RU eOLPLQaWLRQ Rf WKe WRWaO QXPbeU Rf VRcLaO eTXLW\ RZQeUV RU SeUceQWaJe LQWeUeVW Rf VRcLaO eTXLW\ RZQeUVKLS belRZ 2%LQ a cRPPeUcLaO caQQabLV bXVLQeVV fURm Whe QXmbeU RU RZQeUVhiS SeUceQWage SURSRVed iQ Whe RUigiQal cRmmeUcial caQQabiV RSeUaWRU SeUmiW aSSlicaWiRQV [iV]SURKLbLWed. TKLV SURKLbLWLRQ VKaOO LQcOXde WKe LQWeUQaO WUaQVfeU Rf RZQeUVKLS fURP RQe cXUUeQWO\ SeUPLWWed RSeUaWRU WR aQRWKeU, aQd WUaQVfeUV Rf SRcLaO ETXLW\ OZQeU LQWeUeVWV Rf aQ\ NLQd UeTXLUe bRWK SULRU QRWLce aQd aSSURYaO Rf WKe CLW\ WR YeULf\ cRPSOLaQce ZLWK WKLV VecWLRQ. MOM¶s proposed change aligns 9.10.120 E with the definition of ³Social Equity Owner´ listed in 9.10.020 B(11): ³SRcLaO ETXLW\ OZQeU´ PeaQV WKe SULQcLSaO(V) Rf a cRPPeUcLaO caQQabLV bXVLQeVV ZLWK 2% eTXLW\ RU KLJKeU ZKR eaUQed aW RU beORZ WKe PedLaQ KRXVeKROd LQcRPe aW WKe WLPe WKe RSeUaWRU ¶V cRPPeUcLaO caQQabLV RSeUaWRU SeUPLW aSSOLcaWLRQ ZaV aSSURYed b\ WKe CLW\. This recommended change furthers the City's goal of raising up disadvantaged people by removing a significant restriction to business growth, and thereby maximizing the potential gain for Social Equity Owners. 2. E[SaQd AllRZable CiW\ OSeUaWiQg HRXUV fURP Whe cXUUeQW 9:00aP - 8:00SP WR 7:00aP - 9:00SP. ThiV chaQge ZRXld lead WR iQcUeaVed Wa[ UeYeQXe, beWWeU VeUYice fRU caQQabiV cXVWRPeUV, aQd aligQPeQW ZiWh allRZable RSeUaWiQg hRXUV iQ VXUURXQdiQg ciWieV. We also request that the City Council consider an amendment to the City¶s cannabis ordinance extending allowable operating hours for cannabis retail storefronts. Currently, retail storefronts in SLO are allowed to operate between 9:00am - 8:00pm; we request that the City amend the allowable operating hours to 7:00am - 9:00pm. Extending the allowable operating hours to 7:00am - 9:00pm would increase tax revenue, better serve customers, and would be in alignment with neighboring cities¶ allowable storefront retailer operating hours.Neighboring cities Grover Beach and Morro Bay allow storefront retailers to operate between the hours of 7:00am - 9:00pm. Additionally, the City of SLO allows retail delivery sales between 6:00am to 10:00pm. Accordingly, extending allowable storefront retailer operating hours would put SLO storefront retailers on equal footing with SLO delivery retailers and storefront retailers in surrounding cities. It is within the City¶s purview to allow an extension of operating hours to include 8:00am - 9:00pm. While SLO City Ordinance (No. 1647) states: 9.10.250:³ReWaLO-SWRUefURQW CRPPeUcLaO CaQQabLV BXVLQeVV VKaOO QRW RSeUaWe beWZeeQ WKe KRXUV Rf 8 PM aQd 9 AM´ Department of Cannabis Control Regulations state: CCR 19-2-3 15403.³HRXUV Rf OSeUaWLRQ. A OLceQVed UeWaLOeU VKaOO VeOO aQd deOLYeU caQQabLV JRRdV RQO\ beWZeeQ WKe KRXUV Rf 6:00 a.P. PacLfLc TLPe aQd 10:00 S.P. PacLfLc TLPe.´ Extending the allowable operating hours is not currently part of Staff¶s proposed Ordinance updates; therefore, we respectfully request that the Council direct City Staff to provide guidance and proposed language to implement the extended hours. Waiting to implement this change for future years perpetuates an unnecessary disadvantage to operators in the City of SLO. CRQclXViRQ We respectfully request that you consider our recommendations regarding the proposed changes to the Cannabis Business Program, which we believe contemplate the City¶s interests, community¶s interests, as well as the interests of the businesses like us operating in the City. Your willingness to listen and engage with stakeholders is appreciated and valued. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or discussion. We welcome the opportunity to further discuss these proposed amendments and provide any additional feedback and insight on the current cannabis program. Sincerely, Megan Souza Founder and CEO Megan¶s Organic Market