CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES
Study Session
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
3:00 PM
City Council Chambers
68-700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero
Cathedral City, CA 92234
• CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 3:01 PM by Mayor Rita Lamb. • ROLL CALL
Attendee Name Title Status Arrived
Rita Lamb Mayor Present 3:00 PM
Mark Carnevale Mayor Pro Tem Present 3:00 PM
Nancy Ross Councilmember Present 3:00 PM
Raymond Gregory Councilmember Present 3:00 PM
Ernesto Gutierrez Councilmember Present 3:00 PM
• AGENDA FINALIZATION
There were no changes to the agenda.
1. PUBLIC COMMENT
There were no members of the public that wished to speak.
2. STUDY SESSION
A. Historic Preservation Application and Fee Analysis
Recommendation: This item is presented for information, discussion and direction.
Robert Rodriguez, Planning/Building Director, provided an overview of the proposed Historic Preservation application and fees.
Peter Palladino feels that there is value in historic preservation. He provided a brief overview of the city ’s journey to develop a historic preservation ordinance and thanked those who helped the process along, including Greg Pettis, John Rivera, and Charles McClendon. He also gave a shout out to Denise Cross, Cathedral City P a g e 2 Printed on 2/02/2023
Cathedral City's only historian. He expressed his concern with the proposed fees.
Sue Townsley expressed her support of the Agnes Pelton House and supports a waiver of fees instead of a blanket of no fees.
Alan Carvalho expressed his supports the Agnes Pelton Home and referenced modernism week. He wou ld like the City to make this a place that supports history.
Shelley Kaplan feels history of a city provides a context of the city. He also feels that the City should want to designate sites as historic to provide the history of the City even if the site is no longer there. He would like something that encourages people to apply, not discourage.
Simeon Den doesn’t want the Council to lose site of the value of residents taking pride in their community. He feels it will be a missed opportunity if we don’t do community building to bring the entire community together. He feels if you put obstacles in front of something , people are less likely to move forward. He expressed his love for this community.
Mayor Pro Tem Carnevale expressed his support for zero fee s, however he would support a minimum charge should Council recommend it.
Councilmember Gregory feels only serious applicants should apply. He would like to see a minimal cost of $100 , or possibly more, and would like to see a waiver of fees for the cert ificate of appropriateness , if the applicant can demonstrate that there is a public benefit to making the repair. He also supports a full downgrade fee.
Councilmember Ross indicated that she did not see preservation plans included and feels that this woul d prove the applicants are serious. She expressed her support for no fees and lower fees for the certificate of appropriateness.
Councilmember Ernesto Gutierrez feels the proposed fees are a little high and feels that they can be lowered. He suggested onl y charging the cost of advertising and mailing notices, approximately $709.00, which he feels would be a reasonable amount.
Mayor Lamb feels the concern is whether or not the City is able to absorb the cost to designate these historical sites. She wants t he City to encourage applicants to apply and expressed her support for a minimal cost to be respectful of staff's time.
Charles McClendon, City Manager, stated that staff will bring forward a fee resolution with a $100 fee, full cost recovery for downgra de or removal, and full certificate of appropriateness fee with a provision of a hardship waiver. He indicated that a decision related to the plaque does not need to be made at this time.
Cathedral City P a g e 3 Printed on 2/02/2023
This item was for information and direction only, there was no formal action taken by the City Council.
B. Cannabis Industry and Taxation Analysis
Recommendation: This item is presented for information, discussion and direction only.
Stone James, Economic Development Director, provided an overview of the cannabis industry analysis which included surveys and interviews.
Lisa Goldfine, Double Eye Dispensary, expressed her concerns with the struggling cannabis industry and requested assistance from the City.
Kenneth Churchill, West Coast Cannabis Club, thanked staff and the Council for taking the time to talk to the cannabis industry and listening to them. He expressed his concern with the struggle the cannabis industry is facing and feels they need to work together to ensure these small businesses survive. He encouraged the City Council to help support small businesses and lower taxes to 5%.
Meagan Hogg, Double Eye Dispensary, expressed her concern with the changes in the cannabis industry and requested assistance from the City.
John Chaissa, Atomic Budz, thanked th e City for listening to the cannabis industry. He would like to see cannabis businesses treated the same as all other businesses, which he feels will cause the black market no longer to exist.
Armando Perez, Desert Sun Ray, expressed his concern with challenges with the industry is facing and by being taxed at a premium. He feels tax reductions would help and he would like this to be looked at as a mid to long term solution.
Mayor Lamb stated that she is invested in protecting businesses in the City and thanked staff for the comprehensive analysis. She expressed her support for lowering the taxes to help the cannabis industry and is in favor of staff's recommendations.
Councilmember Gregory stated that he remains conflicted on how much to help.
He expressed his concern with making a decision that will reduce revenue and would like to know how it will be made up. He would also like to see what the budget cuts will look like and what the forecast will be for over the next few years.
In regard to cultivation and manufacturing, he feels the ordinance may need to be looked at and cleaned -up to go to the vote of the people. He expressed his support of finding a way to help the industry through the budget process and proposed limiting the number of licenses in the future.
Mayor Pro Tem Carnevale feels the cannabis industry is being affected nationwide and feels that the cannabis businesses should be treated the same as other businesses. He feels that over taxing cannabis businesses is harsh and supports reducing the tax rate for retail and cultivation.
Councilmember Gutierrez stated that he can see that the cannabis industry Cathedral City P a g e 4 Printed on 2/02/2023
needs help, however, he is conflicted on how much help to provide. He questioned if the industry has reached out to the State for assistan ce. He expressed his concern with revenue loss and feels that before they take action, the City needs to be able to balance and analyze the budget with staff's input on how to do it.
Councilmember Ross feels that the cannabis industry is in need of help, and she supports a tax cut. She feels the City needs to analyze the budget to find a way to do it.
It was the consensus of the City Council to support some type of tax break for the cannabis industry. It was the direction of Council for staff to provide what the budget ramifications of the tax break will be and to bring back a recommendation at a future meeting for Council’s consideration.
ADJOURN
Mayor Lamb adjourned the Study Session meeting at 5:04 p.m.
Mayor, City of Cathedral City City Clerk, City of Cathedral City