RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA, PURSUANT TO RIVERSIDE MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 5.77.120, TO POSTPONE THE CITY’S EVALUATION AND REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS FOR STOREFRONT RETAIL COMMERCIAL CANNABIS BUSINESS PERMITS BY UP TO 180 DAYS WHEREAS, Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution authorizes cities to make and enforce, within their jurisdictional limits, ordinances and regulations not in conflict with general laws to protect and promote the public health, safety, and welfare of its citizens; and WHEREAS, on November 8, 2016, California voters approved Proposition 64, titled the Adult Use of Marijuana Act and enacted a state statutory scheme legalizing, controlling, and regulating the cultivation, processing, manufacturing, distribution, testing, and sale of nonmedical ("adult-use" or "recreational") cannabis, including cannabis, products, for use by adults twenty-one years of age and older; and WHEREAS, on June 27, 2017, the Medical and Adult Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act was signed into law, which provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for licensing, control, and taxation of medical and adult-use cannabis-related businesses in California; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Riverside ("City Council") desired to establish a strong and effective regulatory system with regard to cannabis businesses that protects the public health, safety and environmental resources, provides a consistent regulatory pathway for the cannabis industry consistent with state regulations, fosters a healthy, diverse and economically viable cannabis industry that contributes to the local economy, and ensures that environmental, public health, safety and nuisance factors related to the cannabis industry are adequately addressed; and WHEREAS, in furtherance of these goals, on February 28, 2023, the City Council introduced and on March 14, 2023, adopted, Ordinance 7628, amending Riverside Municipal Code Chapter 5.77 (Cannabis Business Activities), in its entirety, Ordinance 7629 amending RMC Title 9 (Peace, Safety and Morals), and Ordinance 7630 amending RMC Title 19 (Zoning) of the RMC; and WHEREAS, Chapter 5.77 of the RMC regulates Cannabis Business Activities in the City of Riverside (“Cannabis Business Activities Ordinance”), including the types of businesses and maximum number permitted within the City, the permitting of up to 14 storefront retail commercial cannabis businesses and an unlimited number of manufacturing, distribution, and testing laboratories; and WHEREAS, on October 17, 2023, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 24048 establishing the rules and regulations entitled Storefront Retail Commercial Cannabis Business Permit Procedure Guidelines and Application Review Criteria (“Permit Guidelines”), as required by RMC Section 5.77.130(A); and WHEREAS, pursuant to the Permit Guidelines, the City reviewed and scored 40 applications for the Storefront Retail Commercial Cannabis Business Permits resulting in the 14 highest scoring applicants advancing to the final phase of the permit application process, including submittal of proposed retail site locations; WHEREAS, the proposed retail site locations for the 14 storefront retail commercial cannabis business permit applicants show a geographic density, including nearly half of the proposed locations in one City ward and no proposed locations in two other City wards, resulting in the need for further study of the effects of such concentration on furtherance of the stated purpose of the Cannabis Business Activities Ordinance, including but not limited to retail access by residents and/or protection of health and safety of residents from negative impacts; and WHEREAS, pursuant to RMC 5.77.120, the City has reserved the right, prior to permit issuance, to modify, postpone, or cancel any request for applications, at any time without liability, obligation, or commitment to any party, firm, or organization, to the extent permitted under California law, and persons submitting applications assume the risk that all or any part of the cannabis business permit program, or any particular category of permit potentially authorized under Cannabis Business Activities Ordinance, may be cancelled at any time prior to permit issuance; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to postpone the Storefront Retail Commercial Cannabis Business Permit application process to study the effects of geographic density, proximity to sensitive receptors and other health and safety concerns, in furtherance of the stated goals of the Cannabis Business Activities Ordinance and the other ordinances referenced herein, including but not limited to retail access by residents and/or protection of health and safety of residents from negative impacts.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Riverside, on the basis of the presentation and staff report and the other evidence submitted to the City Council, as follows:
Section 1: That the above recitals are found to be true and correct and are hereby incorporated as if stated in full.
Section 2: That, pursuant to Riverside Municipal Code section 5.77.120, the City Council hereby postpones the City of Riverside’s evaluation and review of applications for Storefront Retail Commercial Cannabis Business Permits by up to 180 days, currently being evaluated in accord with Resolution No. 24048, for further study and possible action by the City. This postponement shall pause all deadlines under the Storefront Retail Commercial Cannabis Business Permit Procedure Guidelines and Application Review Criteria for up to 180 days. No Storefront Retail Commercial Cannabis Business Permits shall issue during the pendency of this postponement.
Section 4: The City hereby finds that this resolution is not subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines sections 15061, subdivision (b)(3) (there is no possibility the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment).
Section 5: The provisions of this resolution shall be operative upon adoption.
ADOPTED by the City Council this ____ day of ________________, 2025. ________________________________
PATRICIA LOCK DAWSON Mayor of the City of Riverside Attest:
____________________________
DONESIA GAUSE
City Clerk of the City of Riverside
I, Donesia Gause, City Clerk of the City of Riverside, California, hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was duly and regularly adopted at a meeting of the City Council of said City at its meeting held on the ___ day of _______________, 2025, by the following vote, to wit:
Ayes:
Noes:
Absent:
Abstain:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of Riverside, California, this ___ day ____________________, 2025. _____________________________
DONESIA GAUSE City Clerk of the City of Riverside [22-2104.78]
PAGE 1
- PAGE 1 -
1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
9 10
11 12
13 14
15 16
17 18
19 20
21 22
23 24
25 26
27 28
CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
3750 UNIVERSITY AVE., STE. 250
RIVERSIDE, CA 92501
(951) 826-5567