§ 1615. ISSUANCE AND DENIAL OF CANNABIS BUSINESS PERMITS.

(a) After reviewing an Applicant’s application, the Director shall notify the Applicant in writing that the application is complete and accepted for further review, or incomplete. If the Director deems the application to be incomplete, the Applicant shall supply the information or documentation that is required for the application to be deemed complete. The Applicant shall have 90 days from the date that the Director provides notification that the application is incomplete to provide all required information and/or documentation. If the Applicant does not provide such information within 90 days, the application will be deemed abandoned and will not receive further consideration. Applicants that abandon an application may submit a new one, subject to payment of a new application fee. Applicants that submit an application following the abandonment of an earlier application shall not receive priority review, as set forth in subsection (c) of Section 1606.

(b) Upon review of a complete application and consideration of information provided by the Referring Departments, the Director shall either grant or deny a permit, as specified in more detail in subsections (c) and (d).

(c) Approvals. In granting a permit, the Director may impose conditions as are, in his or her judgment, necessary to protect the health and safety of the Permittee’s employees, neighbors, and Customers, prevent access to Cannabis and Cannabis Products by underage persons, and reduce any potential adverse impacts of the Cannabis Business on the immediate neighborhood. Such conditions may include, but are not limited to, conditions relating to the hours of operation.

(d) Mandatory Grounds for Denial. No Cannabis Business Permit shall be issued if the Director finds that:

(1) The Applicant, any Owner, or anyone holding a financial interest in the proposed Cannabis Business, has provided materially false information or documents in connection with the application.

(2) The Applicant or any Owner failed to provide all information required by this Article 16 and by the Director, in implementing this Article 16.

(3) The Applicant has violated a provision of Article 16, and has failed to come into compliance with Article 16 within a reasonable time, as determined by the Director of the Office of Cannabis, after receiving notice of the violation from the Director.

(4) Any Owner, or anyone holding any financial interest in the proposed Cannabis Business, has otherwise willfully or knowingly failed to comply, or caused a failure to comply, with this Article 16.

(5) The Applicant has not demonstrated eligibility for a permit under this Article 16.

((6))1 The Premises are materially different from the diagram of the Premises submitted by the Applicant.

(7) The City has revoked a permit for the operation of a business in the City which permit had been issued to the Applicant or to any other Person who will be engaged in the management of the Cannabis Business unless more than five years have passed between the date of the application and the date of revocation of the other permit.

(8) The operation of the Cannabis Business as proposed by the Applicant, if permitted, would not comply with all applicable laws, including but not limited to, the Building, Planning, Housing, Police, Fire, and Health Codes of the City, the provisions of this Article 16 and any regulations promulgated thereto, and the Medicinal and Adult Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act, 2017 Cal. Legis. Serv. Ch. 27 (S.B. 94), and its implementing regulations, as may be amended from time to time.

(9) The Applicant is employed by any local or state agency responsible for the regulation of Commercial Cannabis Activities.

(10) The Applicant denied access to the Premises to the Office and/or to any Referring Department.

(11) The Director finds that the Premises or the Cannabis Business will be or is being managed, conducted, or maintained in such a manner as to endanger the health and safety of the employees, Customers or neighbors, or to coerce any employee to engage in illegal conduct.

(12) The Planning Department or Planning Commission determines that the Applicant engaged in Commercial Cannabis Activities in a location that was not authorized by or consistent with the Planning Code.

(e) Discretionary Grounds for Denial. The Director may deny an application for a Cannabis Business Permit if the Director finds that:

(1) The Applicant or Owner has been convicted of an offense that is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the business or profession for which the application is made, except that if the Director determines that the Applicant or Owner is otherwise suitable to be issued a permit, and granting the permit would not compromise public safety, the Director shall conduct a thorough review of the nature of the crime, conviction, circumstances, and evidence of rehabilitation of the Applicant or Owner, and shall evaluate the suitability of the Applicant or Owner, to be issued a permit based on the evidence found through the review. For purposes of this subsection (e)(1), “offenses that are substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the business or profession for which the application is made” include, but are not limited to, the following:

(A) A violent felony conviction, as specified in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 of the California Penal Code;

(B) A serious felony conviction, as specified in subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7 of the California Penal Code;

(C) A felony conviction involving fraud, deceit, or embezzlement;

(D) A felony conviction for hiring, employing, or using a minor in transporting, carrying, selling, giving away, preparing for sale, or peddling, any controlled substance to a minor; or selling, offering to sell, furnishing, offering to furnish, administering, or giving any controlled substance to a minor; and,

(E) A felony conviction for drug trafficking with enhancements pursuant to Section 11370.4 or 11379.8 of the California Health and Safety Code.

(2) Except as provided in subsections (e)(1)(D)-(E) of this Section 1615, a prior conviction, where the sentence, including any term of probation, incarceration, or supervised release, is completed, for possession of, possession for sale, sale, manufacture, transportation, or cultivation of a controlled substance is not considered substantially related, and shall not be the sole ground for denial of a permit.

(3) There is good cause to deny the permit in accordance with Section 26 of the Business and Tax Regulations Code.

(4) The Applicant has not made a good faith effort to comply with its Equity Plan, as submitted under Section 3322 of the Health Code.

(f) In determining whether an Application should be denied on grounds articulated in subsections (d)(1) and (2) of this Section 1615, the Director shall use his or her best efforts to coordinate his or her review of evidence and decision with the State Licensing Authority charged with the review of the Applicant’s application for a State Cannabis License.

(Added by Ord. , File No. 171042, App. 12/6/2017, Eff. 1/5/2018; amended by Ord. , File No. 180912, App. 12/21/2018, Eff. 1/21/2019; Ord. , File No. 191174, App. 12/20/2019, Eff. 1/20/2020)

CODIFICATION NOTE

1. So in Ord. .