CITY OF
OXNARD
Lai, Dee <[email protected]>
CALIFORNIA
Comment on City Council Hearing Agenda Item 1
1 message
Lauren Fontein <[email protected]> Tue, Jun 20, 2023 at 1:38 PM To: [email protected]
Greetings,
I am one of the owners of The Artist Tree. We are one of only 2 cannabis retail locations operating in the city of Oxnard and have been operating since December 2022.
I am writing to oppose the proposed $5,283 compliance fee for cannabis retailers for the following reasons:
1. Oxnard already imposes incredibly high fees on cannabis businesses far in excess of other cities. Oxnard requires all dispensaries to pay 1% of gross receipts to the City annually as a Community Benefits Fee and a $250,000 upfront payment upon initial licensing. Oxnard also has a 6% cannabis sales tax. These fees are a huge barrier to entry and ongoing financial burden.
We currently operate in numerous other cities that do not require such fees - most cities only have a sales tax that is passed on to consumers and a nominal annual licensing fee of less than $10,000. They do not require 1% of gross profits or a large upfront payment.
For Oxnard to impose another fee on top of what it already requires is egregious and not financially feasible for cannabis operators.
2. The cannabis industry as a whole is struggling, and many retailers are unable to continue operating because of heavy taxes and other market conditions. The situation is vastly different from when the city held its licensing process in 2021. This is likely why only 2 of the 16 licensees have opened in the city. If the city would like to encourage more operators to open and help generate tax revenue and community benefits fees, it should reduce or eliminate any additional fees on cannabis operators, such as the proposed compliance fee.
1. Since opening our Oxnard location, our sales and customer counts have been much lower than anticipated, and the fees charged by the city will make it very difficult to continue operating.
3. The city's $250k initial fee that cannabis operators are required to pay should be used to fund compliance activities rather than requiring an additional fee. In the Staff Report, staff mentions that only 4 out of the 15 cities surveyed require a cannabis compliance fee and that "the recommended compliance fee is within the range of what is being charged elsewhere." However, this is grossly misleading because none of the other cities charge a huge upfront licensing fee.
I appreciate your consideration and strongly urge you to adopt a compliance fee that is similar to that for tobacco/alcohol/firearm businesses rather than the proposed $5,283 fee.
Kind regards,
Lauren
Lauren Fontein
Founder
direct: 213.700.6858
email: [email protected]
website: www.theartisttree.com
social: @theartisttree
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