120 S. State College Blvd. Suite 200 | Brea, CA 92821 | 714.879.5000 | hdlcompanies.com July 17, 2023
Brandy Forbes
Community Development Director
415 Diamond Street
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Re: Proposed Contract Amendment
Dear Brandy Forbes,
We are in receipt of the City’s proposed extension to the agreement for cannabis consulting services with HdL Companies. Upon further review, HdL has chosen to decline extension of the contract, which expired on June 30, 2023. We greatly appreciate having worked with the City over the past year on cannabis regulations, including the successful adoption of a cannabis regulatory ordinance and tax measure.
At this time, HdL is facing significant demand and workload for our cannabis compliance services, with limited staff resources. Prior commitments that we have already made to other clients, combined with our current staff capacity, prevent us from being able to extend the contract and/or expand services any further.
Prior to expiration of the contract on June 30, 2023, HdL provided the City with draft cannabis application materials. Per the contract terms, HdL was required to provide one initial draft, one iterative draft, and one draft for presentation. To date, our records indicate that HdL has provided six iterative drafts to City staff and participated in one presentation to the City Council. Moving forward, any further changes to the application materials are at the discretion of the City. We are fully confident that City staff will be able to incorporate any changes requested by the City Council, and see the process through to completion.
We are aware that the City has been considering whether to conduct application reviews internally, or utilize a third-party to assist in the process. The draft application materials are currently designed to accommodate either approach.
Thank you working with HdL on initial stages of cannabis program development. We look forward to the opportunity to re-engage in the future on any post-application services the City may desire.
Sincerely,
Ajay Kolluri
HdL Companies