Attachment A
Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs
From Other Cities
LONG BEACH
Equity Program
• Prepared by City staff in the Office of Equity
• Timeline: Approx. 2 years
• Components
• Fee Waivers
• Reduction of location requirements (i.e. buffers between businesses) • Expedited application and facility plan check review
• Direct technical assistance Business development support ($350K grant/equity applicant)
• Access to application workshops
Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs from Other Cities 2
LONG BEACH
Adult-Use Ordinance
• Timeline: Approx. 1 year
• Staffing & Resources
• City employees – overseen by Office of Cannabis
Oversight (includes 10 staff) housed in the City
Manager’s Department
• Outreach
• Met with community stakeholder organizations
and groups
• Process
• Applications accepted during application
window, chosen by lottery
• No cap on number of licenses except for
dispensaries
• Dispensaries are capped based on population (32
– all converted from medical) and later added
additional permits for equity applicants (8)
awarded through RFP process.
Equity Assessment
• Prepared by City staff
• Timeline: completed before ordinance was
adopted and took approx. 1 year
• Assessment Components
• Eligibility criteria
Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs from Other Cities 3
CITY OF LOS ANGELES
Equity Program
• Lottery selection process for verified social equity applicants through eligibility criteria (lottery administered by third party firm)
• City online assistance/learning portal with online courses, digital resources, educational events
• Direct financial assistance through grants and fee waivers/deferrals • Pro/low bono legal services for social equity applicants who have passed a pre-application stage
• Outside vendors provide targeted programming to social equity entrepreneurs (licensing requirements, commercial regulations, business/workforce development, technology education)
Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs from Other Cities 4
CITY OF LOS ANGELES
Adult-Use Ordinance
• Allows for retail, delivery, cultivation,
manufacturing, testing, and distribution
uses
• License caps on certain uses, including
retail, by Community Plan Area based on
population
• New applications for retail uses currently
only being accepted for social equity
applicants until January 1, 2025
• Retail uses must be a minimum 700’ from
sensitive uses and other retailers
• Cultivation, manufacturing, testing, and
distribution uses must be a minimum 600’
from schools
Equity Assessment
• Prepared by consultant in 2017
• Timeline: Approx. 4 months
• Components
• Cannabis use and arrest data
• Study of penalties and disadvantages of
nonviolent drug convictions
• Public workshop
• Recommended program components including
workforce requirement, technical assistance
program, investment program/fund,
waived/deferred fees, expungement of past
cannabis criminal records, streamlined
permitting, provisional licensing, social equity
program coordinator, education/outreach
Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs from Other Cities 5
OAKLAND
Equity Program
• Developed by city staff
• Timeline: 3 Months. Developed concurrently with Equity Analysis • Outreach
• Hold ongoing monthly meetings in collaboration with a local equity group for equity applicants • Components
• Phased licensing - At least 4 of the 8 dispensary permits are reserved each year for equity applicants per calendar year
• Equity Incubators – General applicants that provide free rent or real estate to equity applicants are prioritized for next round of permits.
• Operators may apply for a permit and receive conditional approval prior to leasing or purchasing a space.
• Drug offenses excluded from background checks
• Reduced licensing fees
Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs from Other Cities 6
OAKLAND
Adult-Use Ordinance
• Timeline: Approx. 2 years
• Staffing & Resources
• City employees – overseen by Economic &
Workforce Development Department, Special
Activity Permits Division
• Outreach
• Stakeholder community meetings and online
survey
• Process
• Business permit and dispensary permit
• Dispensaries require a public hearing
• Onsite consumption permit may be granted to
dispensaries in good standing following a public
hearing and evaluative point system
Equity Assessment
• Prepared by City staff
• Timeline: Approx. 3 months
• Assessment Components
• Enforcement history
• Identification of disproportionately affected
communities
• Disparities within cannabis industry
• Revisions to medical cannabis ordinance
• Challenges
• Have a history of large illicit market
Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs from Other Cities 7
PALM SPRINGS
Equity Program
• Prepared by City Staff with assistance from consultant • Timeline: Started with 3 month pilot program based on other cities, went back and spent 6 months redeveloping/expanding
• Components:
• Tax cuts (50%)
• Technical assistance ($350K grant/equity applicant)
• Fee Waivers (i.e. application review and plan check fees) • Expedited processing
• Application workshops
• Location waivers (i.e. buffers between businesses)
Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs from Other Cities 8
PALM SPRINGS
Adult-Use Ordinance
• Timeline: Approx. 1 year
• Staffing & Resources
• City employee – overseen by Department of
Special Program Compliance
• Outreach
• Several stakeholder meetings
• Process
• Licenses offered first-come, first-served with no
caps on number
Equity Assessment
• Prepared by Consultants ($40K – grant funded)
• Timeline: Approx. 6 months
• Assessment Components
• Enforcement history
• Identification of disproportionately affected
communities
• Identification, understanding and addressing of
key barriers
• Local cannabis legislative history
• Findings and equity program recommendations
• Challenges
• Determining cap on # of permits due to
fluctuation in population due to tourism
• Classifications of crimes changed over time,
which made data collection difficult
Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs from Other Cities 9
SAN DIEGO
Equity Program
• Prepared by City Staff with assistance from consultant • Timeline: Still being developed
• Components
• Waiver of location requirements (i.e. buffers between businesses) • Expedited processing
Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs from Other Cities 10
SAN DIEGO
Adult-Use Ordinance
• Timeline: Approximately 1 year
• Staffing & Resources
• City employee – overseen by Cannabis Business
Division
• Outreach
• Several listening sessions with Council members
observing advertised through print/media, website
updates, direct calling to stakeholders and
community organizations, and social outreach posts
• Process
• Discretionary, Licenses offered first-come, firstserved with a cap of 36 citywide and 4 per Council district
Equity Assessment
• Prepared by Consultants and City staff ($75K –
grant funded)
• Timeline: Approx. 20 months
• Assessment Components
• Cannabis market analysis
• Identification of economically and socially
disadvantaged neighborhoods and populations
• Community feedback analysis
• Best practices from other California jurisdictions
• Identification of primary barriers to equity
• Preliminary equity program recommendations
• Challenges
• Interdepartmental review and agreement of
program recommendations resulting from the
assessment
Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs from Other Cities 11
SAN FRANCISCO
Equity Program
• City developed
• Timeline: Approximately 1 year
• Incorporated into the Adult-Use Ordinance
• Components
• Equity applicants with 100% ownership are prioritized over non-equity applications • No cost to apply for initial permit
• Opportunity to partner with an Equity Incubator business • Legal assistance from Cannabis Law Committee of the Bar Association of San Francisco Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs from Other Cities 12
SAN FRANCISCO
Adult-Use Ordinance
• Timeline: Approximately 1 year
• Staffing & Resources
• City employee – Office of Cannabis under the City Administrator Department, includes 11 employees • Outreach
• Held public meetings and sent public notices through Cannabis Legalization Task Force. Now have a more permanent task force that advises on legislation.
• Cost
• Approx. $600,000 to fund the staff positions to do the initial work (3 staff members) and create the Office of Cannabis
• Process
• Application window with first-come first-serve based on minimum qualifications with equity applicants prioritized
• Have 6 equity criteria and must meet 3 of the 6 and pass an asset test to be considered an equity applicant
• Equity applicants who own 100% of the business are prioritized most • Once all equity applicants eligible receive permit, then start reviewing general applicants • No cap on permits.
• Medical permitted to convert to adult-use but must make equity commitments with revokable license if fall through on commitments.
Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs from Other Cities 13
SAN FRANCISCO
Equity Assessment
• Prepared by City staff and community groups
• Timeline: Approx. 6 months
• Assessment Components
• Identification of economically and socially disadvantaged neighborhoods and populations • Historical & legislative context of cannabis policies • Arrest rates and low-income populations
• Identification of primary barriers to enter
• Findings and equity program recommendations
• Challenges
• Challenging and slow to coordinate with local departments to secure necessary data (arrest dates, low-income populations, disadvantaged communities) Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs from Other Cities 14
CULVER CITY
Equity Program
• None developed
Equity Assessment
• None conducted
Adult-Use Ordinance
• Timeline: Approx. 1 year
• Staffing & Resources
• Task force comprised of City staff and
boards/commission members and contracted
with consultant on ordinance development
($50K) – overseen by Finance Department
• Outreach
• Task force comprised of City staff and
boards/commission members
• Process
• Competitive selection process and CUP required.
• Extra points awarded to minority-, women-, or
veteran-owned businesses during selection
process
Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs from Other Cities 15
WEST HOLLYWOOD
Equity Program
• None developed
Equity Assessment
• None conducted
Adult-Use Ordinance
• Timeline: Approx. 1 year
• Staffing & Resources
• Contracted consultants, program overseen by
Community Safety Dept and Neighborhood
Business Safety Division
• Outreach
• Stakeholder meetings and surveys
• Process
• Application window with screening process to
review applications with third party reviewer
based on criteria with top 8 candidates selected
• All cannabis business licenses require a hearing
before the Cannabis Commission
• Medical retailers allowed to convert to adult-use
through "legacy" permit but very restrictive (can't
change more than 50% of ownership within first 4
years, can't rebrand, and can't move locations
unless lease is terminated, or else legacy permit is
terminated)
Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs from Other Cities 16
EQUITY PROGRAM LESSONS LEARNED
1. Cannabis programs that do not include caps on number of permits benefit the more capitalized businesses and forces equity businesses to partner with more established businesses
• Hard to know if the equity partner actually has control
2. High start-up cost for businesses makes it hard to provide adequate direct funding for equity applicants
3. Requires a lot of staff or consultant to provide hands-on assistance
4. Program funding relies largely on State grants
• State legislation mandates grant funding appropriation which may conflict with equity applicant needs (80% for direct applicants, 10% for staff and 10% for technical assistance) • Program may cease if alternative funding resources are not identified
5. Considering setting aside program revenue for equity programs as an alternative if it is intended to supplant cannabis equity program
Detailed Summary of Cannabis Social Equity Programs from Other Cities 17