Permitting Process

The City’s Commercial Cannabis Regulations allow Commercial Cannabis Operations (CCO’s) to conduct indoor cultivation, processing, extraction, manufacturing, testing, and distribution activities with an approved Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and Regulatory Permit within areas of the City Zoned Manufacturing and Business Light (MBL). 

Requirements

The requirement of CCOs to operate under a CUP  and Regulatory Permit which allows the City to regulate such activities and provides a means of enforcement for potential violations. Central to the CCO Regulations is the inclusion of specific Minimum Operational Requirements and Restrictions, which regulate various portions of CCOs including, the registration of employees, the type of signage allowed, the distance of CCOs from schools, as well as building construction and security standards among other regulations.

In addition to the operational permits required by the CCO, separate Employee Permits are required for each employee which includes a full DOJ background check. Finally, the CCO Regulations include protocols regarding the enforcement and revocation of permits. As such, the CCO regulations would allow CCOs to operate within the City, however, such regulations would be required to operate under the strict governance and approval of the Police Chief and Community Development Department and would be required to operate in such a manner as to avoid the creation of public nuisance or hazard.

Mandatory Pre-Application Meeting

As a prerequisite of submitting a license application to the City for commercial cannabis activity, all prospective applicants shall schedule a pre-application meeting with the City by contacting Sean Brewer, Assistant City Manager at 559-935-1533, ext. 143 or by emailing Mr. Brewer. 

The pre-application meeting includes a comprehensive review of the application process, the application documents, and the expectations of the City as it relates to the licensing requirements of the applicant such as:

  • Cannabis Business Characteristics
  • Employee Permits
  • Floor Plans
  • Site Plans
  • Legal Documents
  • Fees and Taxes
  • Monitoring and Compliance
  • Security Plans